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101flavoursofweird · 10 months

Note

If you're still doing requests, can I request “You know, you can stay if you want to.” for Rook and Bishop? Thank you.

((Sorry for the wait, but thank you for the prompt! It’s always so much fun to write about Rook and Bishop. Your blog is such a great resource for their characters, and I included some headcanons from your Hastings family au It’s canon in my heart. I also included a small OC cameo :D))

Set: After Azran Legacy and after Rook and Bishops’ bonus episode.

Spoilers: Vaguely for Miracle Mask and AL, concerning Targent, Rook and Bishop

Warnings: Short discussions about guns I don’t know

Description: Rook and Bishop go to join Scotland Yard, but Bishop isn’t sure he’s cut out for the job. (Rook is Macaw and Bishop is Robin, in the US version of the game.)

If you asked Bishop, the stone steps leading up to Scotland Yard seemed to go higher than the Nest. Bishop had never been scared of heights, but something about those steps, the authoritative blue doors, and the venerable red building made his limbs turn to jelly.

He pressed his knees together and straightened his back, standing to attention— just like they had trained him in Targent.

This was something Bishop had seen police officers do as well, along with a salute. Maybe working at Scotland Yard wouldn’t be too different from Targent…?

Bishop wasn’t sure whether he found that reassuring or not.

It didn’t matter— as long as he had Rook beside him!

Stealing a glance at his partner, Bishop saw that Rook’s face was set with resolve as he stared up at the police headquarters.

(It was still odd seeing Rook’s dark brown eyes…)

Rook, like Bishop, had removed his black sunglasses.

Rook, unlike Bishop, had adopted a stance of cool determination, like he was meant to be here.

Gritting his teeth, Bishop glanced around. There was a constable posted outside Scotland Yard’s front door, and a man in a blue hoodie inspecting the bus timetable, but other than that, no one else was near them.

To any observers, Rook and Bishop must have looked like innocent civilians visiting Scotland Yard. (Right?)

After dumping their… borrowed Zeppelin in a park, the pair had ditched their Targent uniforms in favour of plain outfits from a charity shop. Rook had chosen a green coat and maroon trousers (A colour combination that really suited him!) while Bishop had gone with a sky blue jacket and jeans. (Blue was still his favourite!)

Using their last dregs of loose change, they had paid for the clothes, fair and square.

Now they were completely broke, but they were going to get new careers at Scotland Yard, so it was fine. Rook had said they would be fine.

…Unless someone in the police force recognised them— or a stray agent from Targent!

‘Detective Inspector’ Bloom had been arrested, along with Tommy’s gang of hitmen, but that didn’t mean Rook and Bishop were safe! Targent still had loads of assassins in their employ…

“Chill, Bishop,” Rook breathed.

“Don’t call me that,” Bishop gasped, casting his gaze around again. “We should come up with new code names…”

“Normal people don’t have code names,” Rook reminded him.

“Shhh!”

Was Blue Hoodie Man looking their way? How long did it take to check a bus timetable? Bishop observed the man from the corner of his eye. (Something was familiar about him…)

“Your new name could be Sketchy,” Rook said.

Bishop elbowed him in the side. “That’s not funny!”

“Heh…” Rook snickered. When Bishop kept scowling at him, Rook suggested, “Alright— what about Mr. Hastings?”

Bishop hummed. He was always rushing around… and Rook was always rushing after him.

Smiling, Bishop nodded. “I like it! You should be Hastings too.”

“I…” Rook’s face reddened. He reached for his forehead, only to remember he’d lost his cap. “I guess…”

“Aren’t we going to need some new ID?” Bishop wondered. “They won’t let us work at Scotland Yard without it, will they?”

Rook slapped his head. “You’re right…”

The man in the blue hoodie finally strolled off.

“Ah, well!” Bishop sighed with relief, slouching. “We’ll just have to find a job that gives cash in hand…” He turned away from the steps, but Rook stayed right where he was. “Rook?”

Rook kept gazing up at Scotland Yard. “I really thought… we could make a difference,” Rook mumbled. “That we could be different…”

“We still can be!” Bishop tugged on Rook’s arm. “Just not here…”

The constable guarding the front door glanced down at them. Bishop lowered his voice.

“Even if we did have some ID, I don’t think Scotland Yard would accept us—“

“Why not?” Rook grumbled. “What’s Leonard Bloom got that we haven’t?”

Bishop listed, “A university degree… a fancy suit… endless charisma… and he’s incredibly crafty…” (Second only to Professor Layton!)

“Yeah, like a weasel. We won’t let the police down!” Rook clenched his fists, squared his shoulders and held his head high. He looked ready to march in and sell himself to Scotland Yard.

Reluctantly, Bishop released Rook’s arm. “You won’t let them down.”

Bishop started to trudge away from the steps— away from Rook— but Rook threw his arm out like a barrier, stopping him.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet now, Bishop!”

“I never was cut out for this,” Bishop quietly admitted.

Back at the Nest, when Rook had suggested they should leave Targent, Bishop had been so excited at the prospect of them starting a new life together that he hadn’t put much consideration into Rook’s plan to join Scotland Yard.

Yes, Bishop still wanted to be a good person, but the thought of chasing after criminals (potentially their former colleagues) and being bossed around by police higher-ups… wasn’t very appealing, honestly.

Life would never be easy, but Bishop had hoped they would find some freedom.

If Rook truly wished to be a part of Scotland Yard, though… Bishop had to let him go.

Bishop smiled weakly at Rook. “You know, you can stay if you want to,” Bishop whispered. “Scotland Yard would be lucky to have you. You’re way smarter than me— smarter than Bloom, even— and you’re a thousand times more loyal—“

“You’re loyal too!” Rook took him by the shoulders. “You’re diligent and positive and— and you’re a good person! The best person I know!”

Bishop shook his head dejectedly. “Good people don’t threaten animals and— and other people with guns.”

Rook gaped at him.

The constable on the stairs was scribbling something in his notebook. Maybe he was writing down Bishop’s confession.

“But… but you didn’t,” Rook breathed. His hands were digging into Bishop’s shoulders now. “Did you?”

“The big dog in Torrido?” Bishop recalled.

“He was going to rip our heads off!”

Bishop winced. “In— in Froenborg, I pointed my gun at Professor Layton and his friends—“

“So did I! So every other agent following Bronev’s orders!” Rook growled.

“But you never— shot at anyone,” Bishop argued. He swallowed. “I shot at Jean Descole, back at Akbadain—“

“Jean Descole?” Rook snorted. “Wanted Criminal— Jean Descole?”

Bishop shrugged.

Rook went on, “As far as I’m aware, Descole escaped from Akbadain— almost like you and the rest of the army missed him on purpose.”

“It wasn’t on purpose,” Bishop murmured. “I just… hadn’t fired at anyone before…”

“Or since,” Rook said firmly.

Bishop nodded. Rook patted him on the cheek.

“You are a good person, Bishop,” Rook repeated. He looked up at Scotland Yard once more. “But maybe you’re right— I don’t think you’d cope with police work. Not sure if I would either, actually…”

Hope stirred within Bishop. “C-Could we think on it?”

Rook nodded. “We’ll leave it for a little while— find a place to lay low and get some new ID—“

“We can stay with my mum,” Bishop said, brightening up even more. “She lives in Surrey— that’s not too far from London!”

He grabbed Rook by the arm again.

“If you say so,” Rook chuckled. He got one last glimpse of Scotland Yard before Bishop dragged him towards the nearest train station.

Dear Sirs,

Please find enclosed two passports, a marriage certificate and other relevant identity documents for Mr. B Hastings and Mr. R Hastings.

You will find that your minimal criminal records have been wiped clean from all systems.

Should you wish to apply for a position within the police force, you will not face any opposition…

However, might I suggest a career in the entertainment industry instead? I believe you two have comedic potential. If you are interested, please see below the contact details for a trusted agent…

Rook’s eyes narrowed as he read the letter Bishop had just handed him. As promised, the letter came with all the identification documents Rook and Bishop could ever need to start their new lives.

“So… What do you think?” Bishop asked when Rook was finished.

Rook hummed. The sender hadn’t included their name or a return address, but there was a phone number, apparently belonging to an agent.

Not a Targent agent, but casting agency, for actors.

“If someone is setting a trap for us,” they’re going about it in a very roundabout way,” Rook reasoned.

And if the letter-writer wanted them dead… well, they already knew where Rook, Bishop and Bishop’s mum lived. Why bother going through the trouble of securing Rook and Bishop their new identities, just to kill them off?

Would the letter-writer expect them to return the favour years down the line? Were they hoping Rook and Bishop would make it big as actors one day?

The two of them could take the chance. Acting was a far less dangerous profession than being a police office… and Bishop would probably be happier too.

“Um, Rook…”

Rook looked at Bishop, who was beaming.

His partner said, “Are we, like, actually married now?”

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maddstermind · 6 months

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I'm crying at some of these titles - but also Lemon Demon is making more sense now knowing you know Homestuck (this is a compliment btw, I'm adding some of their songs to my list (Knife Fight)) ANYWAY - pls tell me more about howie dies dot jpeg and 999 999 laughing for real right now- On a more serious note - we're doing it man, we're making this happen You've been updated to Warheads cause my face currently resembles sucking on one I'm losing my fuckin mind rn

Yes, YES, I highly recommend pretty much everything Lemon Demon has every done. Listen to Bustin', it's hilarious. (As far as I know, Lemon Demon/Neil Cicierega has nothing to do with Homestuck, but they do have a similar vibe lmao. Also I'm honored to be upgraded.)

OKAY WRITING THINGS YEEHAW.

howie dies dot jpeg Snippet:

President Howard Goodman sat at his desk in the Oval Office, alone. The orange light of the setting sun filled the room, silhouetting him with his back to the window. He was alone. He kept telling himself that. There was no one else in the room, hadn't been for hours as he demanded to be left alone for the rest of the day, but he could not convince himself that he was actually alone. He felt watched. Every shadow out of the corner of his eye looked to be a person, or a beast, or some horrific fusion of the two. It was worth mentioning that Howard hadn't been sleeping well lately.

About: The other (joke) working title for this was "Howie's Hot Girl Summer." The real title was "I'll Find You In The Next Timeline." It was meant to be for the 2023 Hatchetfield Big Bang (which I host!), but I got swamped and wasn't able to work on it for long. It's a timeloop story about the (fictional) President of the United States, Howard Goodman. And also he's in love with the mysterious military man, General John McNamara. I'll probably eventually get around to finishing and publishing it. Someday.

999 999 laughing for real right now Snippet:

"When I meet my soulmate, I'll tell you about all the colors, okay?" Light teased her about how she'd be able to describe colors without using examples, but she was stubborn. She swore she'd tell him what colors were like. "Alright," Light ruffled her hair, "you better keep your promise, then." "I will!" She grinned, though he didn't see it. He didn't have too, though. He just knew.

About: This fic is from [claps] 2017! I always meant to get around to finishing it... It's called "Prism of Light," and its a Zero Escape soulmate AU, the one where you start seeing color when you touch your soulmate for the first time. It's Light/Aoi (Snake/Santa) and I only got about two chapters in, but it is on AO3 for the curious. (It's not very good.)

we're doing it man, we're making it happen Snippet:

At age nine, Max saw a picture of Mothman and decided that was what they wanted to be when they grew up, and they've been working towards it ever since. Their desire to discover the bizarre often led to them believing too easily — luckily for them, Lizzie was always there to balance the scales. While she also had a keen interest in the weird, she was more skeptical, thinking things through more thoroughly before deciding whether or not to believe them. Together, the two had spent their years of friendship exploring the island town of Saint Hazel, following every possible lead in hopes of finding any scrap of strangeness in the sanitized town. They'd had their fair share of successes, even if it was never anything as grand-scale as Max hoped.

About: The actual title of this one is "The Conspiracy Gang," and it almost belongs in the "mix of both" category. It's an original work that is based on a roleplay of Starkid's Hatchetfield series done by me and my friends; the main characters are/were our OCs for the universe, but I love them so much I wanted to write a version of their story on my own (with my friend's permission, of course!) Max is my character, and Lizzie belongs to my good friend @cosmic--static! I haven't gotten that far into writing it, sadly, because I've been so heavily focused on Auberon. But someday!!!!!! OH ALSO ITS A COSMIC HORROR STORY FORGOT TO MENTION LMAO

#ask game #novel work #writeblr stuff #the-grim-and-sanguine #hope you find these fun lmao

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colecassiidy · 1 year

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Wishlist:

Gimme that ride or die friendship where the greeting to each other is “die” and the natural response is, “naw, u first”; the one where they get into bar fights bc one or both of them are absolute dipshits and if one of them starts something, u know ur obligated no-thoughts-head-empty-style in getting in there urself no matter how stupid it is. It’s always open season to bully tf outta each other. They’re tired as all hell of the other, but who else is gonna have the ol’ slugger’s back? Lowkey, highkey(?), it’s the sort of, “aw, for fuck’s sake, i’m probably gonna die with your stinking corpse next to me u stupid bastard.” (For the modern verse and deadlock, possibly for the period western verse too i sppose??)

i am always looking for discussions on the nature of religio.n with this character, whether your muse has religious trauma or sincerely practices faith; let me come into ur inbox with that "are you praying again? How raw are your knees"

Adrenaline mistaken for love; ["love is when you’re wrestling for control of the gun and there’s only one bullet left. love is when you grab the knife theyre swinging at you by the blade and look into their eyes and laugh. love is when someone is so obsessed with you they have to kill you."]

Hateships, but we will have to discuss this; Cole doesn't harbor hate for long. He'll dislike you, disagree with you, but can remain cordial. I've yet to knuckle into what he can't swallow. He's less raw and vulnerable at the age of 37-39, so saddling into this will mean either working out histories or writing with a younger variant.

Frenemies is p fun.

Bounty character? meets bounty hunter. They bitch at each other.

And in the reverse: somebody coming after his ridiculously priced bounty, lord help him.

Bounty rivalry?! Bickering over who gets the cash and losing the bastard in the midst of it. Having to work together to get said asshole back.

Escort, recon, undercover or guard mission, hello 👋

Im always down for blackwatch era ocs? Gang era ocs? Hell yea, hell yea.

Kiddo cole is so fckin funny to me, if u want to deal w this pissy punk of a teenager, pls, god, let me know. No weird shit tho, i beg.

the nikk.i la.uda to his jam.es hunt,,,,

Roadtrip threads

Threads where he’s still in prison. Modern, Period, or an AU where he never accepted BW.

i need more threads of cole acting as or during when he was a gang enforcer (modern)

3 Godfathers/Tokyo Godfathers plot for Modern or Western (and i suppose it can work for Post-Apocalypse or OVW between either him as a runaway or him post-BW). The idea is that the muses find an abandoned child and take up the mantel of trying to take care of it while trying to find their parent. The important part of this is that there is a certain level of underqualification to the muses that results in a sort of chaos. I'm not looking for domestic, fluffy end game for this; the bulk would be on exploring nonconventional guardianship. Trying to do the right thing despite being seemingly built for everything but. The original short story involves the trio all dying by the time they deliver the child to the safe harbor of a town.

Not so much an active wishlist but a possible dynamic for modern: The first responder who found him beneath the farm equipment when he lost his arm, or the physical therapist that helped to fit him with a prosthetic.

Dynamics and threads in which he is still in prison for Modern would be interesting, whether your character is also an inmate, a worker of volunteer, or somebody who is dealing with this man making a getaway.

character specific:

pls,,, if u have a cassidy, lmk, let’s have them fight -- pls, i am so desperate to see them kick each other’s asses

would like to explore further ak.ande’s attempt to suggest talon was an option; hell, it’d be an interesting conversation to be had with other characters as well.

#navigation&mastermaps;;#//to be added and expanded upon 👍

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sugaxela · 4 years

Text

AN ACCIDENTAL FIC REC LIST

So.. I’m a lurker who reads a lot of fics and I get annoyed when I can’t relocate my fave ones. I started making this list of my faves mostly for myself but then figured I’d share it...

I’m Yoongi biased and gravitate towards angst fics so it’s mostly that but there’s fics for every member tossed in here. Some of these are pretty popular so you might have seen a few.

Also, I realized I need to read more Jin, Jimin, and Hoseok fics so if you have recommendations let me know!

Once again it’s a LOT of angst so I would just like to say... CRYING IS GOOD FOR U.

***

KSJ

Start Anew - @gukyi

Seokjin x Reader. Angst. Summary: it’s been five years since you left your hometown, vowing never to return, but a simple invitation to a christmas party and a yearning to know whether or not you’re truly over the heartbreak you left behind has you wondering if, maybe, the christmas spirit and promise of a new beginning can change your mind.

No Limit - @sailorbellewrites

Seokjin x Reader. Fluff. Summary: you and jungkook don’t even look alike. how was seokjin supposed to know you were off limits?

Lovely Little Mess - @guksheart

Seokjin x Reader. Fluff, smut. Summary: telling seokjin of your pregnancy should not be so daunting, but you hide it as long as you can—at least until you are sitting with him in a bathtub and the secret comes spilling out.

No Parking - @jungshookz

Seokjin x Reader. Fluff. Summary: “to the asswipe who owns this mini cooper - do you know how to read signs? this is a no-parking zone. no. parking. zone. that means you are not allowed to park in this zone. DO NOT park here.” (also I made up the title bc it doesn’t have one)

MYG

Seasons Change - @taetaesbaebaepsae

Yoongi x Reader. Angst. Summary: Min Yoongi and you, through the seasons, break up and come back together. Nobody said love was easy.

I’ll Float Away - @ppersonna

Yoongi x Reader. Angst. Summary: years after the breakup, yoongi, a successful award-winning rapper with an unhealthy addiction, finds your wedding invite on Facebook.

Memory Lane - @hayjeon

Yoongi x Reader. Fluff. Summary: grumpy husband yoongi au aka lots of fluff (mentions of sex)

Do It Again - @kimnjss

Yoongi x Reader. Angst. Summary: months after deciding to end their three year long relationship, a sex tape hits the internet. fans go wild speculating that rap star, min yoongi and aspiring model, yn are the stars. old feelings arise as the couple try to figure out a way out of this.

Cuddles and Kittycats - @dinoyoongi

Yoongi x Reader. Fluff, angst. Summary: After a night of drinking, you go to Yoongi’s dorm for some quality cuddles. Unfortunately, you’ve forgotten that you are currently giving him the silent treatment.

Overstayed Welcome - @kkaep-jjjang

Yoongi x Reader - Fluff, smut. Summary: Y/N decides to get over her crush by getting under someone else. Sounds fool proof right? Wrong.

Ghosted - @bloomsuga

Yoongi x Reader. SM AU. Summary: your new roommate is everything you could ask for: quiet, never makes messes, a killer dry sense of humor... and oh yeah—he’s dead.

Wildest Moments - @joonbird

Yoongi x Reader. Angst. Summary: “Min Yoongi is forbidden territory. And although you both know better, the two of you just can’t seem to stay apart.”

Romance is Dead - @dinoyoongi

Yoongi x Reader. Angst, fluff. Summary: You try to surprise Yoongi with a night full of romance but he manages to ruin all of your plans.

Fools Rush In - @sailorbellewrites

Yoongi x Reader. Drabble series. Summary: min yoongi, music executive and perpetual bachelor, marries a las vegas stripper he’s only known for six months. chaos ensues.

Pretend - @gimmesumsuga

Yoongi x Reader. Angst. Summary: “You know what they say: the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, right?”

Aquiver - @floralseokjin

Yoongi x Reader. Idol AU. Summary: Yoongi can’t remember the last time he was able to successfully bring himself to the point of orgasm, then Namjoon gives him a business card advertising ‘Healing Hands’, and that’s where he meets you; pretty and innocent looking, who gets paid to provide hand jobs for a living…

Hidden Stars - @jungblue

Yoongi x Reader, Jungkook x Reader. Angst. Summary: It started out simple, but when your feelings start to grow for the idol who isn’t allowed to date, things get complicated.

Talk To Me - @btsrpp

Yoongi x Reader. Fluff, angstyish. No summary. But it involves a silent treatment.

No Title - @jungxk

Yoongi x Widow!Reader. Angst. No summary.

JHS

Hobi’s Girl - @v-hope

Hoseok x Reader. SM Au. Summary: after attending a bts concert and very clearly catching one of the members’ attention, you can’t help but get flooded with hate comments once people find your twitter account. who would’ve thought that would be the reason jung hoseok would find his concert girl, too.

Bloom - @jungxk

Hoseok x Reader. Smut. Summary: you’ve always had a crush on hobi and he’s always handled that gently. what he can’t handle is you now, nine years later.

Blue Side - @minyoongone

Hoseok x Reader. SM AU. Summary: when you get a text from a heartbroken boy who you mistake for your ex

KNJ

Confirm or Deny - @dinoyoongi

Namjoon x Reader. Angst. Summary: You’re a member of the rising group FRNZEE. You’ve been dating Namjoon for years when Dispatch releases an article exposing your relationship. Your company confirms the relationship. Big Hit denies it.

You’ve Got That - @mikrksmos

Namjoon x Reader. Angst. Summary: After making a life-changing decision for your career, you’re unsure of how exactly to bring it up to your boyfriend after your relationship and communication has not really been in sync. Namjoon is ready to take this relationship to the next stage, and he is sure that what he needs to ask you will be the solution to all the problems you have been having. Both know this next move is the right idea, but are unaware of how parallel those ideas really are.

Duck and Cover - @versigny

Namjoon x Reader. Fluff. Summary: There were two things you never dreamed would become your biggest worries with your new job: Kim Namjoon, and that god damn camera.

Inked - @1997jk

Namjoon x Reader. heavy angst, slow burn, soulmate au. (no summary).

Try Me - @jjkfire

Namjoon x Reader. Fluff. Summary: You wanted nothing more than to leave behind your old self when you graduated from high school and moved on to college to play rugby but when you see your high school classmate, resident fuckboy and captain, Kim Namjoon, at the rugby department orientation, you feel like everything might fall apart.

Stitches - @glassbangtan

Namjoon x Reader. Angst. Summary: People always said getting married at a young age was a mistake - could they have been right?

All In - @kookiesjoonies

Namjoon x Reader. SM AU. Summary: you aren’t usually one to give out your number to strangers (let alone customers), but after you start talking to Namjoon and getting to know him, you decide that there’s no way you’re going to let him leave without it. however, he fails to mention that he’s one of the most popular rappers in South Korea. and it just so happens that one of your best friends ends up with an extra ticket to one of his shows.

PJM

Come Home to Me Darling - @roses-ruby

Jimin x Reader. Angst. Summary: Jimin cheats and you try to make him stay. But whatever you do, it’s never enough.

Attention and Care - @your-daily-biaswrecking

Jimin x Reader. Fluff, angstish. Summary: Jimin must be the only person in the world who complains about his girlfriend not complaining... When Amy doesn't pester him to come home early (like the rest of the members) he starts thinking she might not care for him as much.

Daisies - @silverlightqueen

Jimin x Reader. SM AU. Summary: You’ve had a long-running feud with fellow idol Park Jimin, saving all the anger and bitterness for the yearly award shows and shooting each other a few dirty looks, not bowing when you walk past each other, or just generally throwing shade. After one particularly obvious encounter between the two of you, the fans start to notice, just in time for The Rose Tour!

Doubt - @heartkook

Jimin x Reader. Fluff, angst. Summary: Jimin gets jealous of your relationship with Jungkook, and needs reassuring that he’s the only one you love.

KTH

Of Lace and Lust - @hobidreams

Taehyung x Reader. Smut. Summary: friendship rule number one: don’t imagine how amazing your best friend’s cock would feel inside you. except that’s all you can think about after accidentally discovering taehyung’s kink for panties. specifically, the lacy ones you’re so fond of wearing.

Queen Cobra - @fantasybangtan

Taehyung x Reader. Gang AU. Summary: when your boss offers the chance to take down the nation’s most lucrative gang from the inside out, you know you’ll do it no matter what the cost… even if that means entering an arranged marriage with the kingpin himself.

See You - @gimmesumsuga

Taehyung x Reader. Smut. Summary: The one where Taehyung notices you at a concert, and can't help but want to see you again.

Who Cares? - @floralseokjin

Taehyung x OC. Angst. Summary: what happens when Taehyung falls for someone who’s already taken? Can he control his feelings or will they take over and render him powerless? In the end is it all her fault or his…?

Color of Your Shirt - @firebettercallnct

Taehyung x Reader. SM AU. Summary: when you're close to your soulmate your shirt changes to their favorite color. yn hates taehyung's favorite color.

JJK

Comfort Inn Ending - @joonbird

Jungkook x Reader. Angst. Summary: “It was you who Jungkook gave his heart to- that is, until the day you broke it. And it is you now, hoping that some faultlines can be repaired, and that some broken hearts can be put back together again.”

After I Left You - @latetaektalk

Jungkook x Reader. Angst. Summary: “when you decided to meet up with taehyung for dinner to reconnect, you didn’t expect to see jungkook, your ex, on a date with his current girlfriend and not to mention, end up fake dating taehyung.”

Rattled - @gukslut

Jungkook x Reader. Genre: Single dad AU, Angst, Healing, E2L, F2L, Smut. (no summary)

Risk It - @kookiesjoonies

Jungkook x Reader. Sm Au. Summary: a drunken text ends with you wrapped up in the arms of your ex-boyfriend. aka the man that you dumped two years prior, after he refused to marry you. suddenly, all of the feelings that you’d seemingly had buried come rushing back up to the surface, and you’re not sure how long you can ignore them.

Damn the Delivery Boy - @deerguk

Jungkook x Reader. Fluff. Summary: Jeon Jeongguk is a computer science major working as a pizza delivery boy, and you are an uninspired published author who has just started an art degree. When you realise that the delivery boy is your old high school crush, he keeps coming back, but with more to offer than just puff pastry and vegetarian supreme. Though little did he know that he would end up giving you something much more that flips both of your worlds completely upside down in the form of two blue lines and nine months.

One Thing Right - @hobios

Jungkook x Reader. Angst, fluff. Summary: desperate to get your ailing mother into the best care possible, you ask your childhood friend turned enemy to marry you for his health insurance benefits. the only problem is it’s illegal. and he’s the sheriff. and you swore to hate him since the day he broke your best friend’s heart.

Hidden Stars - @jungblue

Jungkook x Reader, Yoongi x Reader. Angst. Summary: It started out simple, but when your feelings start to grow for the idol who isn’t allowed to date, things get complicated.

Tamped - @chimoona

Jungkook x Reader. Smut, fluff. Summary: You and your business partner/best friend Jin have struggled to find good help to run your coffee shop. Employee after employee, it just never worked out. However, Jungkook is determined to impress and deliver. He wants this more than ever, and it always feels good to want something. To need, well, that’s even better.

Strawberry Kisses - @kimnjss

Jungkook x Reader. SM AU. Summary: an online dating app pairs him with the perfect girl. the two quickly start falling for each other and when things are getting good, he finds out she’s his best friend’s little sister.

Crush - @jungxk

Jungkook x Reader. Fluff, light angst. No summary, amnesiac jk.

Look Alive - @jamaisjoons

Jungkook x Reader. Angst. Summary: a year after you and jungkook break up, the two of you meet at your brother’s party.

***

I got a lot of these from some fic rec master lists.

Here’s a namjoon angst master list by @bts-ficrecs

Also this bts fic rec list by @platinumjeon

An infidelity list by @hellreads

Fic-Recs by @joonapeach

Top fics compilation by @xjoonchildx

There’s more but I’ll add those when I find them, and I’ll either update this list or make a new one when I have enough new fics.

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ratatticus · 3 years

Text

𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐈’𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 🍓🥛

☁️ 001. My name is Atticus but you can call me Atti! I am a transgender boy who is closeted for the most part — but I prefer he/him pronouns nonetheless. I am enrolled in biomedical courses, and certified nursing assistant (CNA) training and work as a cashier in my grandparent’s vegetable stand which is seasonal.

☁️ 002. Although I seem busy, I have a lot of time on my hands! I’m a frequent and enthusiastic roleplayer who makes sure to reply as quickly as possible given the time to make sure that the reply is higher quality! I’m very flexible seeing as I understand we have lives, and I don’t let careers or education dictate whether I’ll roleplay with someone. Although I love a good and fast reply, real life comes first!

☁️ 003. When it comes to lengths in replies, I love detail. I tend to write over 4K character responses per reply — but this does not mean I expect a novella reply back! I just prefer you write in paragraph forms, third person (being past, present, or mixed tense) and give me something to work with! I don’t want to know just the physical things! I want to know the character’s inter-workings, I want to know exactly what they’re feeling or thinking in that moment!

☁️ 004. I really only roleplay gay romances! Your character can be a cis male, trans male, non-binary masc presenting, etc.! I have some trans male characters as well as cis males, we don’t discriminate! If your character is male and loves dresses and makeup, that’s okay! No discrimination. Is your character female to male without top or bottom surgery? Perhaps maybe not even out yet or visibly masc presenting? That’s perfectly fine.

☁️ 005. NSFW content is plenty fine with me! Adult dialogue always adds depth and I don’t mind! Violence, angst, traumatic experiences, sexual scenes, etc. are perfectly fine as long as we discuss prior! Let’s try to communicate!

☁️ 006. I enjoy various subjects however most of which are very modern and present day, including drama, angst, and conflict. I enjoy playing characters ages mid twenties to mid-to-late thirties! You can, of course, play a younger character (no minors) as long as we agree to which their age difference makes us both comfortable! Non-binary masc presenting characters, trans males including closeted trans males, and genderfluid amab characters are very welcome!

☁️ 007. Omegaverse is a fun topic and I like when we create our own verse with headcanons and pick and choose from other headcanons to build it! I enjoy things like shifters, werewolves, witches and warlocks, and other whimsical characters! I just prefer our characters aren’t things along the lines of faes/fairies, trolls, ogres, etc.! Some elves, nymphs, and other things of course are allowed including merms, fauns, etc. **we can do modern fantasy or more medieval fantasy

☁️ 008. I love crime and drama! Subjects like mafia/gang leaders, assassins, royal drama (medieval or modern), criminals on the run, or even more casual things — CEOs and sexworkers, models and streamers, youtubers and actors, music artists. These things are so fun to me. I enjoy medieval and modern, as long as the roleplay has depth, good characters, and romance! I prefer slow burn with flirting, mind you.

☁️ 009. IMPORTANT — I am an enthusiastic and “extra” roleplayer. I use Discord as my only platform and I pre-make servers for 1x1 organization. They are detailed with places for us to store reference links and images, headcanons and imagines. It’s also important that you know I love having a “canon” roleplay — which is in all cases our first roleplay with our two characters. After that, I like to branch off with AUs, or Alternate Universes. We can have as many AUs at once as we’re comfortable, but it’s important to remember we reuse the same ocs, however the settings and their identities may be different! For example, perhaps our characters in canon are a professor and a sexworker. Yes their personalities are the same, but their occupation, species, and even in some cases gender, may differ. It’s also important you know that I do not expect you to have a wiki from amino or a google doc of your character, nor do I expect a face claim, but I do have them. I also make Spotify playlists in some cases and Pinterest boards for our characters.

How to contact me: bubs#7777 on discord! but message me here first!

#mxm roleplay #romance #romance roleplay #mxm rp #gay rp #gay roleplay #gay fantasy #discord rp #discord verse #omegaverse #aob #alpha #beta #omega #mpreg

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sincerelyella · 3 years

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It’s Your Love - happy birthday Burnsy!

Book: The Royal Romance (AU)

Pairings: Drake x OC (Alyssa); Liam x MC (Ella)

Song Inspiration: It’s Your Love by Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

Characters belong to Pixelberry; OC Alyssa Devereaux belongs to my sister @burnsoslow; Ella Brooks belongs to me.

Summary: The gang coordinates a surprise for Alyssa’s birthday.

A/N: It’s my Burnsy’s birthday and I’m sure everything I’m going to say she already knows! Firstly, I’m so sorry I changed my mind about which AU and which song for this fic like 47545024 million trillion times. Burns just freaking gets me mmkay? She’s my nakie twin, my soul sister, my football bestie and my biggest cheerleader. GUYS! Idk how I could have gotten through this year without her checking in on me, our football conversations or her amazing (and haaawwwwt) fics. Some dialogue in this fic, btw, was taken from a conversation we really had (and as usual, she is hilarious).

Burns, you know that I love you a BUTT TON and I will fight ANYBODY for you (where’s my vaseline?!) Thank you for always being in my corner, for giving me SEVERAL pep talks this year (because I’m dramatic), for believing in me when I sometimes didn’t believe in myself, and for loving me SO HARD. I really hope you have an amazing day and you enjoy your bday dessert and that you like this little fic.

-> please note, this is a rereblog and I am adding this fic to my ML. Today is not actually our sweet Burnsy’s birthday even though we would all like it to be lol

A/N2: This is set in The Loft AU by the way! Check it out here if you haven’t seen these guys’ shenanigans.

Warnings: Adult language, sexual innuendos, and major fluff guys!! The birthday girl wanted to be swooned and I will do my damndest to give her whatever she wants today.

Thank you so much @alyssalauren for letting me vent and letting me harass you with my whining … and listening to me change my mind about this for WEEKS - and also prereading for me along with @ofpixelsandscribbles. I love you guys so much!

Words: 3149 (oops)

Alyssa was not feeling well. The more she coughed, the more she felt like death. “Oh, God, I feel like my brain is going to explode into itty bitty pieces,” she moaned with her arm draped over her face.

Drake bit his lip in an effort to stop a chuckle. She’s so fucking cute, and whiny. But cute. “Baby, it’s just a cold, you’ll be fine.” He slid onto their large king-sized bed and began to rub her lower back.

“It’s not! It’s the plague! Those kids at school don’t cover their mouths and sneeze up into the air! Like, I can see particles of their spit, just wafting,” she complained as she waved her hand in the air, mimicking the particles. “I bet you it landed on me or I inhaled that shit and now, look at me!” Her cute nose was reddened slightly from blowing out copious amounts of snot. She was seriously thinking about shoving some tissue in each nostril just to make sure nothing dripped.

Drake moved his hands upward and massaged her shoulders gently. “I can make you some soup,” he nibbled on her earlobe. “And make you feel … relaxed.”

“Mmmm,” she shivered at his words and sniffled. “Yes, baby, make me feel relaxed!”

A little while later

After Drake’s impressive two hour session of making Alyssa feel better, loud knocks sounded at their bedroom door.

“Lyssa!” Ella bellowed. “Lyss, you’re not answering my phone calls! Are you dead?!”

“No,” she croaked from the bed and stifled a laugh when Drake tripped trying to put on his boxers. “I was just getting my back blown out by my hot boyfriend.”

“Ew, TMI! Okay, are you covered up? I’m coming in!”

“No!” Drake yelled as he hurriedly threw on his pants. “Do not come in here, Brooks! I’m fucking naked!”

“Like I haven’t seen a naked man before,” Ella pushed open the door and rolled her eyes at Drake. “You aren’t even naked, Walker, get a grip.”

“No damn privacy around here,” he grumbled as he looked for a shirt in the closet.

“Hi!” Alyssa called out hoarsely from the bed as she tucked her comforter around her naked body. “I didn’t go to work today, I felt like death was coming for me.”

“I could hear you coughing from the kitchen. So, your blood pressure and that gnarly cough you have are what’s concerning me.”

“Yeah,” Lyss frowned and sniffed. “The cough is rough.”

“And gunky huh? Are you spitting up weird colored stuff?”

“No, it's clear and phlegmy!”

Ella narrowed her eyes on her best friend. “Lyss, did you take your blood pressure today?”

“I … umm no, I don’t like the machine.”

Ella let out a sigh. “You have to babe!”

Lyss’s bottom lip quivered. “I get scared my arm will explode.”

“Lyssa.”

The lip quiver always works with Drake. “… yes?”

“Your arm won’t explode.”

“If it malfunctions it could!”

Ella rubbed her hands over her face. “Alyssa!”

“In one of the Halloween movies, Michael Myers killed someone in the hospital by putting a BP cuff around their neck and pumping it until their head exploded!”

“What the fuck? Okay, no more Halloween movies for you!”

“But-”

“It’s not going to explode, Alyssa. You need to take your blood pressure. Do I have to hogtie you?”

“No ma’am, I’m taller than you!”

“By ½ an inch!”

Ella switched tactics. “If you don’t do this, I’m going to get Drake on you.”

Lyss giggled. “That’s hardly a punishment.”

Ella’s eye twitched and Alyssa held back a laugh.

After another 10 minutes, Alyssa finally agreed to only check her blood pressure if Ella did it for her and Drake had to hold her hand. Once the numbers were acceptable to Ella, Alyssa added to her terms. “Also, I want chicken noodle soup and those little soup crackers” - she sniffled - “and coffee.”

“Why not tea? That’s better I think,” Ella brushed some hair off of her best friend’s forehead.

“Coffee.”

“Cream isn’t a good idea for-”

Drake gave Ella a look.

“I mean … sure!”

“I’ll get started on that, baby,” Drake leaned over to kiss his girlfriend on top of her head. “Be right back.”

Ella waited until he closed the bedroom door behind him. “Lyssa.”

“Hmm?” She was already settled into the fluffy pillow and her eyes fluttered shut.

“Do you have a fever?” Not waiting for an answer, Ella leaned forward and felt Alyssa’s forehead with the back of her hand.

“Nu-uh,” Lyss mumbled and coughed.

“Lyss?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you want to put on some clothes?”

“Mmm, nope, I’m good naked.”

Ella chuckled. “Okay.”

She stood and left Lyss alone to rest. Ella wandered into the kitchen to find Liam and Drake as they stared into a large pot of broth.

“Is she asleep?” Drake asked while he stirred.

“Yep, she’s passed out,” Ella peered into the pot. “You need to add more onions.”

Drake tasted the broth again and shrugged. “Okay, more onions it is.”

Liam handed Drake the bowl of green onions. “So, what do you have planned for her birthday? Are you proposing yet?”

“I had planned to take her to the park and have a picnic,” Drake paused as he tasted the broth again from the ladle. “But seeing as how she’s not wanting to leave the bedroom, I might have to rethink my plan.”

“Hmmm,” Liam tapped his fingers over his mouth. “Why don’t you just have a picnic in the bedroom with her?”

“I guess,” Drake frowned. “That’s not very romantic.”

“You’re trying to be romantic, Walker?” Leo said as he walked into the kitchen with Maxwell with several bags from Nordstrom.

“Yeah, I am, if you must know.”

“I can help you out!” Leo’s wide grin made Drake narrow his eyes.

“What’s in it for you, Rys?”

“Oh, I just love helping my friends! Let me put all my stuff down in the bedroom, I’ll be right back.”

As soon as Leo was out of earshot, Drake hissed. “I don’t trust him!”

“I know,” Max replied. “It’s Leo we’re talking about. After he saw the movie Titanic he started the Billy Zane fan club.”

Ella stopped washing the dishes in the sink and turned. “Wait, what?!”

“Yeah,” Liam added. “Look it up, they’re called the Zaniacs.”

“Why does that make me angrier than anything he’s ever done?!”

Liam shrugged. “He also roots for Billy Zabka’s character in The Karate Kid.”

“Alright, guys! It’s romance time!” Leo announced as he came back to the kitchen.

Three days later

Leo, Maxwell, and Liam were busy setting up things for Drake and Alyssa’s outing at the beach.

“Why is Ella not helping us?” Maxwell huffed as he and Leo carried large boxes of twinkling lights.

“She’s here for Lyss, and to make sure Walker doesn’t sweat too much and get dehydrated,” Leo laughed as all three looked at Drake in the kitchen pacing back and forth.

“Fuck you guys,” his chocolate brown hair a mess after running his fingers through them more times than he can count. “I’m just … nervous.”

“Yeah, we can see that,“ Leo cackled as they walked out into the hallway and waited for the elevator.

“It’s going to work,” Liam reassured his best friend as he grabbed the guitar by the door and followed Max and Leo out.

“Drake, it’s going to be fine,” Ella put her hands on his shoulders to stop him from wandering around the kitchen; it was making her dizzy. “Liam is the King of Romance. Don’t listen to Leo, Alyssa is going to say yes.”

“How do you know that?” He began to babble and couldn’t stop himself. “What if this is too soon? What if she hates my singing? What if she says no?”

“You should be worried about whether she’ll get out of bed,” Ella looked towards the bedroom door.

“Oh my God, is she still in bed?!” He inhaled too quickly and began to cough.

“Okay, Walker, I was kidding. You know she adores you. She said ‘I love you’ first for crying out loud,” she gave him a concerned look. “Are you getting sick?”

“No, I don’t … get sick,” he sputtered as he continued to cough.

“Well you are pretty delicate, maybe you should slow down.”

He waved off her comment as his coughs began to dissipate. “I’m not delicate, I’m just” - he lowered his voice to a whisper yell - “proposing to my girlfriend and I don’t even know if she’s going to like this damn plan!”

Ella rolled her eyes. “Okay, so let’s just forget that you got sick watching Frozen.”

Drake glared. “No. I did not.”

“You also got a nosebleed watching Up,” she smirked.

“Oh my God, will you ever let that go?!”

Ella let out a chuckle. “Okay, fine then, why don’t you go and take a shower?”

“I already did,” Drake looked down at his sweat-stained shirt.

“Yeah, why don’t you go and take another one.”

He nodded. “Be right back.”

30 minutes later

“El! I need help!”

“Lyssa? What’s wrong?” Ella let herself into the bedroom Alyssa and Drake shared.

“My sinuses hurt and I dropped my dress and my book on the floor.”

“Okay?”

“Can you pick it up for me? It hurts to bend over.”

Ella hid a smile and bent to pick up Alyssa’s black dress and her book titled Remember Two Things. “I’ve been meaning to read this, how is it so far?”

“Oh it is so good,” Lyss put the book on her nightstand and pulled the dress over her head. “I’m at chapter 18 and these two have been in love since college-”

“No spoilers! I’m going to read it after you,” Ella found Lyss’ shoes under the bed and helped her put them on. “You take that medication I gave you?”

“The pill was too big.”

“Alyssa!”

“I’m kidding, yes, I took it,” she dimpled. “It was a gel capsule.”

Ella let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. You don’t need your sinuses to act up while you’re out.”

“Where is he taking me?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

Alyssa pouted. “No, I don’t.”

Drake appeared in the doorway with a brand new shirt that was miraculously dry. “Ready baby?”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” she stood and wrapped her arms around her best friend. “Thank you for helping me!”

Ella shooed the couple out the door and quickly called Liam to let them know they were on their way.

***

“Baby, why did you take another shower?” Alyssa eyed Drake’s damp hair.

“I … slipped in something Max spilled on the floor in the kitchen.” Fuck, I suck at lying.

“Oh,” Lyss chewed on her bottom lip and studied Drake’s side profile as he drove his truck through the streets of Los Angeles. “I was thinking … you’ve taken such good care of me while I’ve been whiny and sick and I wanted to thank you.”

“Of course, I care about you.”

“I love you, baby, I feel like we’re so good together.”

“We are, Lyss, I love you too,” he reached over and intertwined his fingers with hers.

Drake slowly pulled the truck into a parking spot and turned off the engine. “Come on, I have something I want to show you.”

Alyssa nodded. She hopped out of the car and took Drake’s outstretched hand as he led her into a walkway with arching shrubs above them. “What is this place?”

“It used to be a secret spot I went to when I was single,” he glanced down at her while she stared up at the greenery in awe. “I would just come down here to be alone.”

Suddenly, the archway lit up in thousands of little twinkling lights that illuminated their way down to the end of the walkway. “Oh my God,” Alyssa squealed. “I love this so much, it’s beautiful!” They came to the end of the lights and began to walk onto sand.

“Only a little bit further,” Drake mumbled as he took in the ocean, then focused his gaze on the large purple blanket that was sprawled out on the sand a few yards in front of them.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a little picnic the guys set up for us,” he gave Alyssa a nervous smile. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes! What’s for dinner?”

“Taco pizza and for dessert,” Drake excitedly climbed onto the blanket after removing his shoes. “S’mores brownie pie.”

“S’mores?!” Alyssa peeked into the large basket that held the pie. “Can we eat dessert first?”

Drake let out a loud laugh. “Whatever you want, baby it’s your birthday.”

Lyss opened the box where the taco pizza sat and she inhaled deeply. “Oh, no, we’re eating this first.” She grabbed a plate and separated two pieces, one for her, one for Drake.

“Thank you.”

They settled into a comfortable silence as they watched the waves cascade over the sand; the sun was slowly fading, disappearing behind the ocean, leaving its yellow-orange coloring over the blue hue of the water. Alyssa was sitting in between Drake’s legs, her back against his chest.

“This hit the spot,” she patted her stomach. “Taco pizza just like in Remember Two Things.”

“That’s where I got the idea from,” he kissed her on top of her head. “You told me how taco pizza sounded amazing and I had to get that for you.”

“You are amazing,” she leaned her head back and touched her lips to his. “Is that a guitar? Why didn’t I notice that before?”

Drake’s face turned a bright shade of red. “Uh, yeah, I had Liam bring his guitar out here.”

“Do you” - she pulled away from him and turned all the way around with widened eyes - “do you play guitar, baby?”

He nervously scratched the back of his neck. “I … Well, sort of. Liam taught me when we were teenagers.”

“That is so hot,” Lyss mumbled and she bit her bottom lip. “Will you play for me?”

Drake nodded. “Hopefully I’m not too rusty, it’s been years.”

“I know I will love it.”

Drake picked up the acoustic guitar behind him and began to tune it. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he went through each string and turned the knobs in turn. Alyssa watched as he dug into his jean pocket and pulled out a guitar pick. How is a man with a guitar so sexy?

“Here goes nothing.”

He strummed the guitar and smiled when it didn’t sound off-key. He took in a deep breath and began to sing.

Dancing in the dark, Middle of the night

Taking your heart, And holding it tight

Emotional touch, Touching my skin

And askin' you to do, What you've been doing

All over again

Alyssa was taken aback. She had no idea he played guitar or sang a note until today. Drake Walker singing country music just did something to her; not to mention the fact that she loved this song.

Oh, it's a beautiful thing, Don't think I can keep it all in

I just gotta let you know, What it is that won't let me go

She couldn’t stop herself, she started to sing along with him. It was a duet anyway.

It's your love, It just does something to me

It sends a shock right through me, I can't get enough

And if you wonder, About the spell I'm under

Oh it's your love

Their eyes were locked as they sang together. Alyssa harmonizing with him made his stomach do flip flops. He was a nervous wreck just thinking about singing and playing this damn guitar in front of her. But once she started to sing, he wanted to stop so he could hear her angelic voice instead of his rough one.

“Drake?”

Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize I stopped.”

“That was so beautiful,” Lyss’ eyes were full of unshed tears. “I had no idea you could sing, baby.”

“I’m sorry I stopped, I wanted to hear your voice instead of mine.”

“Come on, let’s keep going!”

“I … I wanted to ask you something first.”

“Okay, what’s up?”

He set the guitar down on the blanket next to him and reached into his other pocket. “Lyssa,” he pulled out a black velvet box but didn’t open his hand just yet. “I wanted to make your birthday special, and I was so fucking nervous because I didn’t know if you’d like all this.”

“Anything we do together I love, baby,” she grasped his free hand with both of hers. “Don’t ever think I won’t like something you plan for us.”

Drake nodded. “I love you and I chose that song because it’s your love that keeps me wanting to wake up every morning,” he opened his left hand and she saw the box in his hand.

“Is that …”

“Alyssa Devereaux,” Drake opened the ring box and there sat three round diamonds on a gold setting. “Will you marry me?”

The tears were falling and one hand was clamped over her mouth in shock. She was crying so hard and overwhelmed with so much emotion that she struggled to speak. “Y-yes, Drake, yes!”

Drake’s entire face lit up at her words; he slid the ring on her finger and leaned over to kiss her. “Do you have any idea how happy you’ve made me?”

Cheers erupted from behind some bushes behind them, and the couple turned in surprise. Leo, Maxwell, Liam, and Ella jumped out, all with their phone cameras pointed in Drake and Lyss’s direction.

Drake scowled. “What the fuck?”

“Guys!” Alyssa jumped up and waved her left hand in the air. “We’re engaged!” Ella pulled her in for a big hug and the two of them began jumping up and down.

“Nice going, Walker,” Leo smirked as he shoved the last piece of taco pizza in his mouth. “You still sing real pretty too, just like in middle school.”

“Fuck off, Rys,” Drake snarled.

“You did good, brother,” Liam stepped forward and pulled his best friend in for a manly hug.

Drake gave him a half-smile. “Thanks for setting this up, and for all your help, Li. I know Twiddle-Dumb and Twiddle-Dee didn’t help much.”

Liam shrugged. “They picked up your pizza and pie. Got one for themselves while we were waiting for you to pop the question.”

“Taco pizza is the bomb,” Maxwell announced with a mouth full of food. “You guys are engaged! When’s the wedding?!”

“We’re still on cloud nine from being engaged, Max,” Alyssa chuckled. “We’ll all plan it out when we’re ready.”

“All of them?” Drake asked incredulously as the gang began to clean up the picnic area. “All of them are helping us plan?”

“You’re stuck with us forever, gorgeous,” Leo called out to Lyss. “You sure that’s what you want?”

Alyssa looked over at her fiancé, who just so happened to look at her. “I am so sure.”

#It's Your Love #a Burnsy birthday fic #via The Loft gang #oh no my hole #all the holes #they totally coke canned it #hey soul sister #my nakie twin's bday fic #nakie twins #trr fanfic #trr fandom #choices trr #trr #choices the royal romance #choices trr au #Drake x Alyssa #Liam x Ella

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mirkwoodshewolf · 3 years

Text

Guardian of Creatures; AU! Queen x oc female x reader Chap. 13

*Author’s note*

Well been awhile since I did an update for this series but here I am with another update! This time we’re gonna turn back the clock and find out what happened to our gang of mistfits when Serafina left them. So as I told you all before, Oded Fehr plays an allied wizard for John and Serafina, but now we get introduced to a new THREAT to our heroes. So I hope you all enjoy this chapter and until next time :)

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@queen-paladin

@queensdivas

@queendeakyy

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@glitter-at-the-panic

@kinole009x

@geek-and-proud

@wormzteef

_________________________________________________________

Chapter 13,

The Ambush

*2nd Person POV. The morning after Serafina leaves*

The next morning you awoke to the desert sun shining in your tent.

“What do you mean she’s gone!?” you hear John’s voice snap with anger. You peek out of your tent to see the boys all standing around under the desert sun but Serafina was nowhere to be seen. John stood in front of Freddie, his hands fuming with his purple magic while his sons Seraffel and Thor stood behind their father, the same look of anger across their faces.

“I’m saying what is true. She’s gone on her own path.”

“What is it with you fucking Nagas and your riddle talk!? Where exactly did our mom go!? And I swear to god if you don’t start making any sense I’ll freeze you so bad you won’t start to thaw till the next Ice Age!” Seraffel warned.

“Always barking but never biting. Really Seraffel you’ve threatened me thousands of times since your hatching and you’ve yet to hold up to that threat. No matter how old you were.” Freddie spoke nonchalantly, like he didn’t even care for the ice dragon’s threat. You walk up to Brian and ask him.

“What’s going on here?”

“It would appear that Serafina has gone off on her own somewhere. John and Serafina have rarely been apart from one another, the longest I’ve seen them be apart is when Roger and I were first sent by Freddie to save them.”

“Freddie please just—just tell us where our mom’s at? She could get captured or-or killed!” Thor pleaded.

“Your mother can handle herself. Right now she needs to go on this path on her own.”

“Fred normally I would agree on with what you say but this is no time for a pissing contest! Grindelwald knew we were in New York, who’s to say that the rest of his family or even his spies could be out here looking for us right now!? What if her power alone is not enough?” Roger said as he paced back and forth with worry.

“For someone who claims to care for her you seriously underestimate her Roger dear.” Roger halted in his spot to stare at the Naga. “Serafina’s path lies on a different path than ours for the moment. This part of her journey will come to pass with what we need for the final phase of ending Grindelwald’s followers once and for all. Now will the four of you get your heads out of your arses and understand Serafina is more than capable of taking care of herself and isn’t some fragile little maiden that always needs protecting!”

Freddie’s eyes glowed a fearsome yellow and his voice grew deeper and more snake like.

“Now then, we should reach the Medjai coven by the sun’s highest point if we leave now. Burn the tents and get rid of any evidence of our trail here.” Freddie slithered onward.

As the boys went on with Freddie’s orders, you then ask Brian once more.

“Will she be okay?”

“Serafina is unlike any other witch I’ve met before. Elf or otherwise. She has power unlike anything I’ve ever seen. If I had to say who I should be more worried for, I’d say it’s whatever poor unfortunate soul crosses her path.”

Once the site was cleared up of any of your traces, you continued onward to the Medjai covenant. It felt like an eternity had passed until finally as you all came up over a hill and just down below, several village stood there in the middle of the desert.

“We’ve arrived.” John spoke as he urged his black stallion onward. You followed behind him, then his sons, Brian and Freddie, while Roger flanked in the rear.

As you all approached the entrance into the village, several men in black garb with most of their faces covered, held up their wands towards you guys ready to strike.

“Waqaf!” one of the guards spoke up. Your horse whinnied and reared on it’s hind legs. You held onto the reins as tight as you could as you tried to calm your horse down.

“Whoa, whoa boy whoa easy!” you tell your horse. John’s horse nickered and anxiously paced forward and back.

“We’re not spies! We’re friends with your covenant leader Ardeth Bay. My name is John Deacon and these creatures are my friends.” The guards looked at one another suspiciously when a stern but warm voice proclaimed.

“Let them pass!” soon riding on top of a camel was an Egyptian man with long black hair, two Arabic tattoos on each cheek and one across his forehead, and chocolate brown eyes. He sported a mix of a goatee and beard which went well along his strong jawline.

He was a big man on the muscular side, probably standing at around 6ft, maybe a couple inches. But it was the way he just seem to carry himself that made it seem like he was a true leader, a chieftain maybe.

“This man is under my protection. Anyone who tries to even lay a curse upon him shall face immediate exile, do I make myself clear?” the way his voice commanded these guards, it just made goosebumps come across your arms. The guards put their wands away and bowed with their left feet forward and their right arms crossed over their chests, hands going right over their hearts.

He then turned to John and soon his camel and John’s stallion stood face to face of each other.

“Welcome back my friend, it’s been a long time.”

“I wish the circumstances could be better Ardeth.”

“Well, it is most definitely an upgrade from being lost in the desert for days on end without water and hardly any food.” John chuckled embarrassingly but then the two men clasped hands with each other in a firm handshake.

Then they taking back their hands, kissing the side of their index fingers and placing it on their foreheads before placing their hand before their lips once again (must be an Arabic greeting).

“You and your friends have had a long journey not only from your last hideout but also across the desert. Come, satisfy your hungry and quench your thirst. And for two of your companions, regain their energy.” Ardeth said the last part as he looked to Roger and Seraffel who both looked practically exhausted.

“Thank you Ardeth. We appreciate you giving us a place to rest and regroup.” John thanked him. Ardeth bowed his head before urging his camel forward. You all follow behind the leader of the Medjai sorcerers and as you enter the village, you can see hundreds of Arabic witches, wizards and young children running about going about their day.

Some were selling robes, others had potions and spell books for sale, animals were also being sold at what almost looked like a petting zoo setup but it also had dogs, cats and falcons in their cages. Horses and camels were also on sale at the shop, each wearing a price board around their necks as they went about either pacing around the fence, drinking their water, or eating the food provided for them.

This entire marketplace was just a buzz with people. As you passed by, some of the Medjai wizards and witches looked at you and your friends. Some were in awe, others were skeptical, and the rest held respect as they bowed their heads to you and the others.

Soon you arrived at a large tent. It seemed a pretty good decent size (maybe about 8ft long and 13ft. wide) for all of you to fit inside. The front flaps were a stripped pattern of cream and, at least to you, an earthy kinda brownish-red. The rest of the tent was an earthy tone of dark green and brown stripped pattern.

You all unmounted off your rides and Ardeth walked up to the tent and opened it up for you all.

“Enter my friends, eat and make yourselves at home.” John bent down to take his shoes off before entering inside the tent. Brian did the same thing and gave Ardeth an Elvish thank you by placing his hand over his heart and bowing his head. Ardeth did the same motion and Brian entered inside.

Roger, Thor and Seraffel, then Freddie followed behind after Brian. You undid the last of your laces on your shoes and set them down beside the rest of the shoes that aligned the tent.

“You are the human savior the Naga Freddie has foreseen, aren’t you?” he said to you.

“Well—I don’t think I’d go so far as to say that. I mean yeah I did save John and Serafina’s sons from being imprisoned for all eternity but—other than that I’m not really all that special.”

“I disagree. You have a strong powerful aura within you. You may not yet realize it but it’s in there.” His strong, calloused hand gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “Every creature on this earth whether mortal or mythical has that power. It’s only up to those brave enough to seek it out. Not all heroes are of just one image.”

He walked back over to the flap of the tent and opened it up for you to walk inside. You enter in and soon Ardeth follows right behind you.

Whoa! This tent was bigger on the inside! Various and beautiful kaleidoscope-like patterned quilts hung along the walls of the tent. There was a pool at the center of the tent and that’s where you saw both Seraffel and Roger, half naked, in the pool rehydrating themselves after being under the hot African sun for the past couple of days.

Thor was just drying off his wet hair (probably just getting out of the pool himself) wearing a white Arabic tunic. Freddie was curled up under the shade fast asleep, while Brian and John were conversing quietly to themselves.

“Hey (n/n) get in the water’s amazing!” Seraffel called out to you.

“It was amazing till you nearly froze it over yah overgrown icicle!” Roger snapped.

“Oh whatever you’re made out of water yourself you’re fine.” Seraffel waved off nonchalantly. You shook your head at seeing those two argue pettily.

“Maybe later guys.” You gave them an answer.

“I apologize for what happened with my guards out front. We’ve been needing to increase security for our coven.” Ardeth said as he went over to the kitchen to make some drinks for us.

“We understand Ardeth. My grandfather—is resilient.” John spoke lowly.

“He is. Unfortunately, it was not your grandfather or his followers that I was referring to.” At hearing this, most of you all look up at the leader of the Medjai sorcerers confused.

“What—do you mean then?” questioned Thor.

“It would seem Grindelwald has finally convinced an even greater foe to side with him.”

“Who?” you ask.

“The Shadow Sorcerers.” At hearing that name, everyone in the room went frigid with fear. Even Freddie’s eyes had opened at hearing their name.

“Who are the Shadow Sorcerers?” you ask.

“A separate branch of one of the most powerful and most dangerous wizards and witches. They branched off during the time of Thomas Deacon, they viewed his radical thinking of submitting themselves under the Sorcerer Supreme’s rule unlawful. So they branched off, became their own branch of sorcerers.” Freddie first explained before John joined in.

“Once my grandfather became Sorcerer Supreme, he tried to sway the Shadow wizards not as pawns, but an ally. A secondhand ally you may call it. Some of the Shadow covens agreed and allowed some of their students to transfer into our school. To study our way of magic. But they made for certain that they would never submit themselves under the rule of the Sorcerer Supreme. At least not without something to gain from it.”

“They value their pride more than anything else in the world. But it would seem some of the Shadow covens have decided to go fully under Grindelwald’s thumb. Their source of magic comes from the most ancient and most darkest of all magic. Using their very own shadows as an extension of themselves in order to take down any enemy.” Ardeth said.

“The Shadow coven takes their inspiration of their magic based on the animals that you humans refer to as Nocturnal animals. Even basing each specific family off the Latin name of said animal. I’ve even seen the Shadow Sorcerers even control other beings to their will by using their own shadows against them. A few of my people before the massacre learned that the hard way.” Freddie said.

“How many Shadow sorcerer covens are there?” asked Thor.

“There are 10 main covens of Shadow Sorcerers, and then depending on the Nocturnal animal they are inspired to emulate, the covens get subdivided into classes based off the species. The covens with the most subclass are the Felines, Rodents, and Mammalia clans.” John answered his youngest son.

“So that means we’re screwed.” Seraffel exclaimed angrily.

“Not necessarily my young ice dragon.” Ardeth added. “I said that some of the covens have joined Grindelwald. You see there are some that have remained either undecisive or wish to remain neutral. But I’m afraid the ones that did join along with Grindelwald, are one of the most strongest Shadow Sorcerers of all.”

“Which coven classes joined alongside him?” Brian asked. Ardeth sighed and said.

“I—truthfully do not know the exact number. But the one that has been skulking around here lately come from the Corvus clan.” You noticed John clenching his hand into a fist and even saw it tremble.

“So what do we do now?” asked Seraffel.

“Right now my friends you rest. And I strictly ask that you do not leave this tent as the sun sets. The shadow wizards tend to do their hunting at night. And whatever you do; Never. Turn on. The lights.” With that, Ardeth left you guys alone to your thoughts.

“Damn. Siding with the Shadow Sorcerers. Grindelwald must be getting desperate if he wanted to ask for their help.” Roger said.

“Does Grindelwald fear the Shadow Sorcerers?”

“To an extent. My grandfather is many things, a coward is definitely not one of them. But he is aware of who is powerful than even him. He must’ve sueded them to a deal that not even they could refuse.” John said. He lowered his head down to his hands and run his fingers through his hair anxiously. “I just hope and pray to Merlin that Serafina’s at least not in Egypt anymore. Or at least nowhere where a Shadow wizard could be.”

“She’ll be fine John. She’s stronger than you realize.” Brian comforted the anxious young wizard.

For the rest of the day, you all rested and pretty much stayed inside the tent because after traveling the desert for 2 days none of you even thought about wanting to go back outside.

When the sky became dark, it was as Ardeth said, no lanterns or lights were coming on in the camp. Not even lights from the tents or houses nearby were up.

“Man, Ardeth wasn’t kidding. Not a single Medjai has their lights on.” You said as you came back into the tent.

“Then we must do the same.” Brian said. He went up to one of the lanterns and turned off the flame candle inside. Roger did the same to his side of the room, and on and on until finally the entire tent was nothing but pitch black.

You adjusted yourself on the soft red velvet couch (well it felt more like a bed with how big it was).

“Goodnight everyone.” You say. They all reply with a goodnight and soon you all fall into a silent sleep.

‘(Y/n).’ a ghostly whisper calls out to you. You moan and try to go back to sleep but the voice calls out to you again. ‘(Y/n)~’ the soft gentle coo of this man’s voice reminded you a lot of your grandfather. The grandfather you lost back in the War.

He had moved to a small town of Leuven in Belgium after remarrying a woman named Pamela Janssens. She was nice and she really helped your grandfather out of his depression when your grandma died of a heart attack. He enjoyed the Belgium countryside and the people were nice to him even from being from America.

But when the German troops invaded Leuven, you were told by your mother (who was the daughter of your grandfather) that he had been shot and killed by a German soldier and Pamela had been raped before being brutally murdered and then their house was burned to the ground.

Your granddad was like a superhero to you. Even in his old age, he never let anything bring him down. That’s why he was able to still pick you up even as you became a teenager. When you received word of his death from Pamela’s sister, it crushed your entire world.

‘(Y/n)~’ the voice called to you again. No it—it couldn’t be him. There’s no way.

“Granddad?” you whisper as you sit up.

‘It’s me.’ You gasp and quickly hop off the couch. ‘I’m here.’ The voice called out again. You peek outside of the tent but it’s nothing but pitch black outside. The crescent shape moon hardly gave off any light but it was then a small blue flame stood before you. It danced and you swore that it had eyes staring up at you.

A trail of them soon popped out, leading away from the village. Something in your gut didn’t seem right but there was a magical force that was just beckoning you to go forward.

‘Hummingbird. It’s me.’ No way…..it—it was him. Only one person ever called you hummingbird and that was your grandfather. You then find yourself walking out of the tent and followed the trail of blue flames, each one of them disappearing as you walked through them.

*3rd Person POV*

Freddie’s eyes snapped open as he looked up in time just to see (Y/n) leaving the tent.

“Roger! Roger!” Freddie hissed quietly. Roger groaned and turned his back on Freddie, burying himself under his pillow. “Thor! Seraffel!” the dragons only kept snoring softly, well Thor was. Seraffel was mumbling incoherently in his sleep.

Rolling his eyes, Freddie decided it was up to him to get their human savior back. He peeked his head out of the tent, his tongue sticking out to taste the air, hoping to get a scent of where they had gone.

He left the tent and soon spotted some fresh footprints leading away from the village.

“Damnit!” he slithered forward following the footprints as fast as he could, hoping it wasn’t too late.

A few feet from the village, he soon heard the sound of wings flapping. Quickly finding a rocky ledge to hide under, he soon saw 4 figures land down a few yards away from him and soon the figures of 4 men in black robes stood there.

However one of them kept out his black feather wings out and he spoke to the three men.

“With them separated it’ll be easier to take them down. But leave them alive—for now.” The three wizards soon took off on foot now to find (Y/n). Each going a different direction in hopes of ambushing them.

Freddie kept his eyes on the leader who merely just stood there, scouring the entire desert sand. There was something off about this Shadow sorcerer just standing there, he had to be plotting something.

Suddenly out of nowhere Freddie felt three steel blades being shot into his back. He arched himself but as he turned around he was caught by surprise as the figure of the leader fired some type of gas at him, all the awhile saying BOO!

Freddie swatted the air but it was too late. His vision soon started flashing back to the day his entire race was killed.

“Aww, having trouble?” the leader’s voice (sounding thunderous, haunting, almost demonic). Freddie saw the leader’s eyes glowing the same haunting blue as Thomas Riddle Deacon’s eyes. The very same cold blue eyes that stared back at him as he slaughtered each and every Naga. “Watch the stars, have a drink!”

Freddie began thrashing around trying to get rid of this horrifying memory but all he kept seeing was blood spurting, the flash of green light, and the agonizing screams of his family. He soon felt some sort of liquid being dumped onto him as the Shadow Sorcerer continued to taunt him.

“You look like a snake who takes himself too seriously.” His palm soon sparked out a blue fireball and as Freddie finally went calm for a split second to look up at the wizard, he told Freddie. “You want my opinion? You need to lighten up.” He threw the blue fireball at Freddie and soon he was being burned alive.

The leader soon disappeared into the shadows as Freddie screamed in pure agony. The blue flames eating away at his coils like a hot grinder slowly and torturously burning away every inch of his skin. Somehow he managed to send a telepathic cry for help to John who immediately woke up.

“Freddie!” John shot up exclaiming which soon woke everyone up. Brian’s elvish hearing soon heard Freddie’s torturous screaming.

“Come on!” everyone soon left the tent and raced to help the Naga. Suddenly all the lights in their tent came on and the shadows soon came alive.

Razor sharp teeth and red eyes surrounded them as they now felt themselves being bound by the shadows. John tried to break free but he soon heard the very same thing happening to the tent next to them. And the home after that, until the entire Medjai was either screaming in terror or with their last dying breath.

“Hello John, remember me?” soon entering the tent with Ardeth also trapped within his grasp was a lean stature man with short black hair, ice blue eyes, a strong jawline and skin as pale as the moon. He looked to be about his mid-30’s possibly even 40s. But it was his voice.

His voice that was soft and lulling like a lullaby, but it held an icy, haunting tone to it as well.

“Jonathan Corvus.” He smirked.

“It really has been too long. How’s little Fina been?” John snarled softly but soon let out a groan as he felt himself being squeezed tighter by Johnathan’s magic. “And you know, it is very surprising to not see her here with you. I mean back at school you guys were—heh stuck together like glue.”

“Dad, you actually know this son of a bitch?” Seraffel asked.

“Now that is quite rude. Didn’t your parents ever teach you manners?” A shadow spear shot out and struck Seraffel in his thigh. He let out a painful scream.

“Seraffel!” Thor screamed. Seraffel groaned and growled in pain.

“Dragons always were quite brutish for my taste. But I guess that’s why you and sweet, sweet Fina adopted these monsters. Freaks till the end.” The shadow spear slowly went deeper into Seraffel’s thigh. The blood now starting to ooze further down his pant leg, he threw back his head trying to hold in his agonizing screams.

“What do you want from us Corvus!?” John demanded.

“Well truthfully we were ordered to take you and your little band of monsters to see your dear old grandfather but it seems we’re one short. So—you’re coming with us till you tell us where Serafina Black is.”

The last thing any of them ever saw was pure darkness as the shadows wrapped around them till they couldn’t breathe.

*2nd Person POV*

You kept following your grandfather’s voice until you came out towards the Nile River. Whatever light from the moon directed itself into the water, almost giving it a crystal like glow to it. Panting after running so hard you couldn’t hear your grandfather’s voice anymore.

“Granddad?” you called out. “Granddad!” again nothing but silence. Suddenly something whooshed behind you. “G-Granddad?” soon a figure appears out of thin air. He had a black hooded cloak covering himself from whatever light there was and he just stood there silently for what felt like eternity. His hands slowly came up and you were frozen with fear at just who was now standing a few feet away from you.

John’s grandfather, Grindelwald Deacon.

You quickly take out John’s wand from your hip and aim it at him. Even though your hands and legs were trembling with fear you tried to stay strong.

“You stay right there! I know who you are!”

“(Y/n) (L/n). I am not here to hurt you.” His soft whisper of a voice said to you. Hearing him speak in the flashback was one thing but now that he was actually standing here before you it—it made you feel……cold. “I only want to help.”

“Help me?!” you snapped quietly.

“Yes.” He told you. “You are so very, very far away from home. Far away from everything that you know, far from those that you love.” You thought back to your family. You hadn’t even really been keeping them updated on everything since you took the job in trying to discover John and Serafina’s secret club.

No, no he’s manipulating you! You’ve seen this before with John the night Serafina’s family was slaughtered don’t. fall. For it!

“I said don’t take another step!” you warned. But your façade was easily dropping as your hand trembled even worse. And still, he kept walking closer and closer to you.

“My child, I would never see you harmed. Unlike with what the Naga has told you.” What? What is he talking about. “Dear one, it is not your fault that your very birth was planned to go along with the Naga’s plan for vengeance. It is not your fault that you were forced into this world, if you were siding alongside me I would ensure that you were free to live your life. A world where your very existence is not meant to satisfy someone else’s gain.”

Even though you wanted to strike this man down, no matter how much rage and fear was starting to build up within you…….he was right.

Everyone so far has kept calling you the ‘Human Savior’. You didn’t ask for any of this. And why did it have to be you? Sure you might have gone along with it but now—now it was starting to feel like a game to you. That your only purpose for even existing was just to satisfy Freddie’s plan.

“I—I……” you loosened your grip on your wand. Grindelwald’s hand slowly comes up and wraps his fingers around John’s wand.

“You are an innocent. So go now. Leave this place, return to the life that you know.” With that he apparated into smoke and disappeared from your view.

You debated and debated long and hard. Yes you had come this far already but—was it really worth it? Why did it have to be you? Why couldn’t someone else take this job? Clearly John and Serafina have something to gain out of saving all these creatures as well as their entire community, why did you need to be involved?

Suddenly something pierced right through your back. Although no blood spurted out from you, you still felt like something was piercing your very soul. Your right arm suddenly shot out and twisted itself inward.

What—what was happening to you? You tried to resist but each time you did, you were forced to contort and twist about until you were pulled to your knees.

“What’s…….”

“Thought you would realize just what we were? Guess Muggles really are as stupid as they come.” Soon coming out was a strong-bulky looking man who had shadow-like tentacle arms coming out from behind him, his hands seeping out a black aura (much like John and Serafina’s magical aura).

“Shadow sorcerer.”

“Oh look it does speak.” You narrowed your eyes at the insult but your eyes were forced to go wide-eyed. “Such manners, nothing but beyond neanderthal anger. Running about like starving goblins.” You soon felt yourself being lifted up into the air, still unable to gain even the slightest ounce of control back.

“What did—you do…..with my…..friends?”

“The same thing I’m about to do to you, muggle.” In a flash, the shadows shot right towards you until you were cocooned in complete blackness.

21 notes · View notes

jeongyunhoed · 4 years

Text

Past-Present-Future

What do you do

When everything you’ve done

Comes back to haunt you?

Group: ATEEZ

Superpowers AU!

Mutants, assassins, confronting the past! a little dive into the concept of romantic soulmates!

with OCs

Genres: Fantasy, Supernatural, Adventure, Angst, Implied smut, Fluff, Gen

Flashback-heavy

Featuring mentions of: Park Jihoon (solo), Chanyeol, Dean, Zelo

Warnings: Blood, gore, death, violence, character deaths

She has lived with guilt. Slowly remembering details of her checkered past when interned at a sanitarium years ago. The sudden reemerging of a person she remembered dying and the resurgence of a powerful crime syndicate will have her trying to walk the line between the person she has become and the person she was once destined to be.

A/N: I wasn’t sure if I wanted to post this at all, but I guess it’s worth a try to increase my works on this platform again. The masterlist for this will be up shortly once I figure out/try and make a good graphic. Keyword: TRY (as I suck at photo editing)

Chapter 1.

“As of today, the seven of you will become a unit, a covert unit. To put it simply, if I want someone killed, you will do it for me, if I want people killed, you will do it for me, if I want information, you will retrieve it for me, all in all, if I want something, you will get it for me, I am good they are bad,” A woman, whose face was obscured in the dark, told the seven people - six men and one woman, all of whom had vacant expressions and were staring into space.

They were lined up in a padded room, a secret room in the sanitarium that doubled as a training room from the shelves upon shelves of sharp weapons on display at the very end of the room. She knew they could hear her, they just couldn’t speak.

“Kim Hongjoong, Park Seonghwa, Jeong Yunho, Song Mingi, Jung Wooyoung, Choi Jongho, and,” A man said this time, his face also obscured in the dark, reciting each of their names before rounding on the sole woman in the lineup of people wearing sanitarium uniforms. “Lee Mirae,” the man was smirking in the dark. “The future of our program, you will lead this unit, your progress from all the training these past few years has been exceptional, near-perfect, I would like to think.”

Mirae said nothing. “Quite an impressive one you are, Lee Mirae,” The woman spoke again. “It’s almost as if you were born for this kind of job. Changseok, what do you think? She is the most successful one we’ve trained under the program, right?”

“Quite right, honey. Lee Mirae, you are the most successful experiment in this program of ours. It’s not hard to see why, you were born with the mutant gene,” The man seemed to stare at her. “Your own parents didn’t realize your true potential when they interned you in here, but consider this as a way to lead you to what you are destined to be. The most-feared mercenary the world has ever known. The mere sight of you will bring even the most powerful people to their knees, begging you to spare their lives.”

Mirae still said nothing. Like the others, she could hear them, she just couldn’t speak. “You will be pulled out whenever we have a mission for you. This will entail traveling to faraway parts of the world. While you’re all built to be killing machines, I don’t think any of you are invulnerable to harm. But don’t worry, after every mission, upon returning, you will all be subject to electroshock therapy. Just enough to make you forget what you’ve done, where you went, and whom you might have killed,” The woman spoke again.

They could hear her. They just couldn’t speak. “You are all ready for your first mission. It’s in Busan. You will be briefed on the way. It’s time to open Pandora’s Box.”

The seven of them twitched in their places. As the man known as Changseok began to repeat the last two words, the seven of them continued twitching, tilting their heads as if hearing something that hurt their ears. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, forks scratching ceramic plates. When Changseok stopped, all of them stood still, a blank look in their eyes as if in a trance. “Remember, regardless of the weapon you pick, you are the true weapon.”

Seoul. 9:00 p.m. Present day.

Five years have passed since the Seoul attack that changed everything. Almost everyone that was part of trying to stop it was gone, either dead or missing. Lee Mirae stared at the rain tapping on the windows of her apartment. It was now four years since the Utopian cult, the encounter that gave her a rude awakening, the encounter that made everything seem like a lie, the encounter where she lost her adoptive brother Jihoon. There was a memorial in place for the lives lost during those times, placed on the site where the Center for Paranormal Research once stood.

This was no longer the place she once knew. Even the brightest colors from the lights by the river seemed to have a grey, almost black tinge to it all. For some reason, the place she called home was no longer as bright as she knew it to be. It was a lot darker, and it wasn’t only because of the constant dark clouds hanging over the city, but it was also because the crime rate was still at its highest. Gangs were rampant all over. Law enforcement couldn’t be trusted. It wasn’t hard for Mirae to realize how much things weren’t so bright and cheerful since the Seoul attack. It was never bright and cheerful. She just wasn’t paying much attention.

Mirae was a mutant, and had the ability to manipulate energy. She turned the smallest things into extremely explosive projectiles, and she often did it with a deck of cards. Being an omega-level mutant, the fullest extent of her powers allowed her to turn into an energy being, aside from a healing factor that made her almost immortal, and it also slowed down her aging process. She was a fighter, gifted with many forms of combat, and she was often told by her adoptive brother that no one could beat her in any way, but she knew that wasn’t true nor was it going to be true. She often used a steel bo staff made for her by Junhong, one of the surviving tech guys from the attack, who also took it upon himself to make changes to some of her things, including her car and the windows of both her apartment and the record store she owned and operated.

Her powers didn’t stop there. From the two big events that shook the city came her ability to trap souls into objects, usually her cards. This also resulted in a white streak in her hair that she never bothered covering up, not even when she tried to dye her hair.

She heard the door open and turned around. It was her half-brother, Choi San, coming back from getting take-out at the nearest restaurant. San was a mutant like her, and was also gifted with the ability to manipulate energy, only he channeled it through his harpoon. His healing abilities were just as strong as hers, granting him near-immortality. San was also skilled in combat, and when they reunited, he was working as a mercenary for hire. He still was one. Like her, he also had a streak in his hair, a purple one that seemed to cover up the white that formed upon using his powers to their fullest extent.

Mercenary. The mere word made her shake her head. That wasn’t her. If it was, then it was the old her. She was no longer under the control of her Utopian cult. The trigger was gone, taken out of her head. She knew this well. She was the one who drove the sword into the leaders of that cult, her own adoptive parents.

“I’ve come back bearing meat, I figured we could grill some over the stove for dinner tonight” He said, holding up a black plastic bag. San tilted his head. “You had another dream, didn’t you?” He figured.

“Yeah,” Mirae let out an exasperated sigh. She had trouble sleeping, knowing that her dreams would present her flashes of memories from her time at the sanitarium. Only this time, the memories she would have would lead her to wake up in tears as those memories were of Jihoon. Jihoon, whom she promised to protect with her whole life when he got out, whom she practically raised, and whom she ultimately failed to save.

“What was it this time?” San asked, already bringing out a griddle pan to pan-fry the meat instead.

“The first mission I had, or at least that’s what it sounded like, the usual stuff,” She replied, setting the table while he cooked the meat.

San’s expression turned into that of concern as he glanced at her. It made him wonder how he could somehow help her get out of this, out of her inability to sleep. “I could get you sleeping pills if you need it,” He said carefully.

“Thanks, but no thanks. Whether or not I take them, I still have those dreams,” Mirae shook her head, helping him out with cooking this time.

“Hasn’t Junhong… tried to come up with something to help you? What about your friends? Chanyeol? Hyuk? Have they thought of helping you?” San’s tone was becoming increasingly concerned.

“How can they? Hyuk’s not that powerful a telepath, what can Chanyeol do, burn my head? Ino… well, he’s too caught up in trying to manage his own powers to even try and help out other people,” Mirae answered. “Even if they tried, when the trigger was taken out of me, the psychic block in my head grew stronger, they can’t read my mind even if I wanted them to.”

San frowned. He hated that he couldn’t do anything to help her either. “I hear you crying in the middle of the night sometimes,” he said, partly wondering if it was the right time to point it out. “At first I thought you were crying because you missed Jihoon, but over time I realized it was something else,” He quickly turned the meat over in time before one side burned.

“I will always miss him. But every time I go to sleep I’m always haunted by what happened to me before,” Mirae muttered. “I’ll be fine, San. Really, I’ll be fine, I can cope with it,” She assured him. “Maybe some sparring will help clear my head. Want to spar with me later?”

“Will you let me win this time?” San teased, in an effort to lighten the mood.

“I can’t promise you that,” Mirae teased back.

“I thought you said you were training yourself?” Mirae asked later on in the training room down the hall from their apartment later that night. She managed to put San down on the mat in less than a minute during their first try.

“I was!” San argued, sounding frustrated as he got back up on his feet. “You’re just that good!” He pointed out, charging towards his sister, who easily blocked every strike he made while he did the same yet with a few maneuvers later, he was back down on the mat.

“That’s not true, you’re probably just not training enough,” Mirae pointed out, helping him back up.

“Hey! I really was!” San got back up. “Maybe we should just go through the obstacle course kind of training instead,” He said. Although he was frustrated at how he never seemed to be able to one-up Mirae, he couldn’t stay frustrated for long. He wanted to help her clear her head and he was determined to make it happen, even if it was at his own expense.

“Deal. I would never fight you anyway, unless you need to because I might be hypnotized or something,” She assured him, flipping one of the switches to start the courses in front of them. Several dummies were already positioned at the end along with spiked gauntlets that were rotating.

When Mirae flung a few cards towards the dummies in front of her, it signaled San to attack as well, his harpoon gun piercing through the dummy head and as the arrow pulled back, the head was nearly ripped off. The two of them rolled over to either side of the room, picking up the nearest weapon they could get their hands on: Mirae, her staff and San with a pair of nunchaku.

They attacked the spiked gauntlets at the same time with their weapons, kicks, and punches. Their attacks seemed incredibly effortless and precise. San smiled to himself at how they attacked at the same time, and he could tell Mirae was smiling as well, some blood staining the backs of their shoes from kicking a little too hard and breaking the spikes off. When they reached the end of the course, they looked at the nearly broken down obstacles, satisfied with what they did. Mirae handed him a pair of shurikens and the two of them kicked each one towards the dummies that fell out from the ceiling. While San’s hit the dummies on the legs, Mirae’s hit them squarely on the chest and on the head.

They hit high fives. “Close enough, but we did great!” San enveloped her in a hug with one arm. “One day, I’ll hit those dummies just as good as you did” He said, eyeing the shurikens on the legs of the dummies hanging from the ceiling. “I’ve always wondered why you don’t have guns in here.”

“These weapons existed long before there were guns,” Mirae pointed out, retracting her staff. “And they’re a lot cooler to use,” She winked, making San chuckle.

“Okay then, let’s call it a night, I’ve got a game to play and we’ll clean all of this up tomorrow, don’t clean it up, let’s do it tomorrow” San pushed her towards the doors before she could object.

Mirae allowed herself to be led, still feeling the rush from their training session. As she set foot outside the room and into the hallway, she froze as she saw a tall man dressed in black from head to toe, wearing a mask and a fedora. She could tell he was looking right at her before he fled. The way he was dressed seemed familiar to her yet she didn’t know how, it felt a little too familiar as if she wore something like that before. He himself also gave off that familiar feeling.

The man fled before she tried to follow, but as Mirae ran and tried to catch up by the elevator, he was already gone. San caught up to her. “What is it?” He asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing, a stray cat got up here” She muttered. “Let’s go back inside.”

San frowned. “We could’ve taken that cat inside, gave it food, it was probably hungry” He said as they turned back to their apartment. “We could’ve even taken it in for good, like a pet” He eyed her.

Mirae shook her head again as they entered their home, taking their stained shoes off, revealing the bloodied socks they were both now sporting. She was still thinking about the man in black. Why was he so familiar to her? “You can shower first, I’ll go in after you” She said, heading to her bedroom.

“Really? Okay then, I’ll let you know when I’m done” San raised a brow, sensing that something was on her mind. Not wanting to ask further, he went straight to the bathroom.

“Remember our promise, okay?” Yunho choked, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth as Mirae tried to hold him. They were in the middle of a desert-like place, somewhere far away. “Remember it-I’ll look for you-I’ll find my way to you when either of us get out, okay?” He sputtered, looking up at her, eyes becoming glazed over.

The strong wind hit their faces but Mirae didn’t care. Hot tears were streaming down her eyes as she held him, trying her hardest to stop the bleeding coming from his side but failing. “Mirae! Get back here! Leave him!” Hongjoong was yelling as they were on their way back into the military plane, trying to get away from the larger group of what looked like soldiers that worked for their target.

“He’s a lost cause, you can’t save him, Mirae,” Seonghwa tried to pull her up but Mirae refused to budge. “You’re our leader, we’re not leaving without you” He added.

“Go with them-go with them” Yunho sputtered. “I love you, Lee Mirae. I love you. Remember that” and his eyes closed, his form collapsing under her.

More tears fell down the sides of her face as she held his lifeless body close. The pain she felt was slowly being replaced with rage, and as she saw the oncoming soldiers running towards them, about to fire their weapons, her eyes glowed red making all of them combust, exploding in front of her including the weapons they were carrying.

Seonghwa and the others stared at the scene in shock. Tears were still flowing down the sides of her face as the glow in her eyes faded. He was gone. Yunho was gone.

Mirae’s eyes shot open in the middle of the night and she sat up. An overwhelming sadness came over her and before she realized it, tears were already flowing down her face. Her hands were shaking as she sobbed into them, She had forgotten his name, but he must have been someone important to her. Whoever he was, his death felt like a heavy blow, like her heart was being broken over and over.

She had been dreaming about him a lot more lately. Mirae got out of bed and stepped out of her room, sneaking past the sofa bed that San was sleeping on and going to the kitchen. She still felt that overwhelming sadness as she took a drink of water, trying to wipe her eyes from the tears that managed to escape even as she felt like she had already cried her eyes out for the past few minutes.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how her time at the sanitarium was more than just a blur, more than Jihoon, more than the electroshock therapy sessions she often had to go under. Mirae figured she fell in love while interned, with the guy she was dreaming about, the guy whose face she was being made to remember.

“Mirae,” San was already sitting up, looking at her with one eye open. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“Go back to sleep, I’m fine,” Mirae assured him quietly.

“It’s getting harder for me to see you like this, I can’t just go back to sleep,” San got up and made his way towards his sister. “What was it this time?”

Mirae didn’t know how she could tell him. “Someone who isn’t Jihoon, dying in front of me, I killed a lot of people in return. I can’t remember his name, but I’m remembering his face more and more.”

“Must be important to you, whoever they are” San said.

“He must be. Otherwise I wouldn’t have killed all of those people in front of us.”

San rubbed her back and wrapped an arm around her. “Like what you told me, sis. You’ll be okay. This is what’s helping you heal.”

“I hope so, San,” She looked up at him, feeling the overwhelming sadness and heartbreak again. “I hope so.”

San stayed up with her to keep her company for a little while more until she urged him to go back to sleep. Neither of them were aware that the man, dressed in black from head to toe with a mask and a fedora hat, was looking up at them from outside the building.

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villains4hire · 3 years

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⚡️ :3

my first impression of your muse: I genuinely forget whom we used together. I think it was Niffty? Overall pretty spot on for canon. Then enticing for ocs.

my first impression of you: A chill gal that I felt pretty comfortable with pretty instantly.

my favorite thing about your muse: Stands out for ocs and canon while being your own thing. I’d be here forever if I started listing every little thing you do so I will say I favor these the most from you: Gloria, Charlie, Sakuya, Gabe, Mayberry, Niffty, Mercy. I’m sure if I looked at others on there I’d like them too.

my favorite thing about you: -Nyoms you- Everything from your flaws to your positive stuff for personality. You’re very thoughtful to me and I’m glad we can be thoughtful to each other and stuff. Partially personality? But I’m glad we can be mature and like or have favorites of other muses that people have but have ourselves and not be bent out of shape of it? Like we all have our preferences so you’ve shown me you’re really mature as well, it’s probably why I’m much more comfortable being affectionate with you. What I have with you is only with you and myself as people deserve to feel special in their own way with someone else. Always. c:

would I ever consider shipping our muses: we are deep in many ships whether sfw or nsfw. Our interests happen to click a lot for shipping in what we want from the other muse in a ship usually.

a plot I’d like to see between our muses: Hrm. Charlie and Gloria are always good. That or Niffty stirring things up. I know you like Madeline a lot and Verosika. Loona would be fine as well for maybe a gang related thing.

an AU I think would be interesting for our muses: A Charlie and Madeline adventurer au sounds pretty pog. As Charlie could actually keep up with Madeline and I feel like would be stronger than her to begin with... which is kind of needed since Madeline does fight actual eldritch horrors that not many demons could fight without going insane.

#infernalfeminae #infernal-feminae #ooc #answered

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reinahwanggg · 4 years

Text

SuperDad 》 Kim Taehyung

♡pairing: taehyung x oc ♡

♡word count: 1,962 words ♡

♡warnings: it's honestly too cute, taehee is a sweetheart, this isn't a warning but just an adherence to everyone the OC is a person of color, i'll probably make a part two to go about all the details of how taehyung and taehee handled the 48 hours without alyssa, OH and taehee cried seeing his mom leave, just about it. mentions of taehyung not being around as much as he wants to. mentions of what seems to be separation anxiety. ♡

♡genre: established relationship, dad au, idol!tae, fluff, taehee is a cutie you just wanna keep, Inspiration from the return of superman ♡

♡summary: taehyung's back from tour and ready to spend the next two days, with his son, taehee. without his mother there, of course because it's show protocol. ♡

♡a/n: i got inspired by the many dad aus i see and read, like omg they are honestly so cute. also got inspired by reading a fic/ one-shot of jaehyun being on the return of superman with his wife and child and that was the C U T E S T. hope you guys enjoy, also, i added gifs as dividers because i did this on my phone and this is kinda long. credits to all the owners of each gif used ♡

the camera pans in on a sort of empty living room, a wolf gray sofa sat in front of the equivalently colored wall, a small black squared table is there beside it, and along it is a picture that is covered by a cute emoticon.

littered around the vast space are various cream colored tents, with camera lenses peaking out, various fingers and hands holding them. the camera then passes over to the television, sat on a small drawer, that has glass doors, littered with many DVDs and vinyls, and the seemingly 75" television is off, unsurprisingly.

it then shows the kitchen, monochromatic colors is the aesthetic it seems, as a modern black gas stove is there, with the gray smart refrigerator alongside the counter that separates the two appliances. there is a four slot toaster and a kettle on the aforementioned counter, and a little magnetic knife strips which held all the knives, tongs and spatulas that are often used. the cabinets are a brilliant pearl color, various cute stickers decorate it, some looking old and torn and others looked like they just came out the pack.

it then shows the lounge room and a bedroom respectively, before a dark room comes into view. the emcees had already asked if there was a new superman for the show, and wondered who the new family was. they adored the little height chart on the door casing, and the little furniture and things here and there. they even tried to figure out what the shelf of things were, since it was covered with another cute emoticon.

•~•

back in the room, a little head peaks up at the sound of the doorbell ringing, looking left and right, probably trying to figure out what century it was. then the phone rang and the little human grabs the cellular device in their hands, knuckle sliding it over, and it amazes the emcees.

in the cutest voice the little human could muster, they answer the phone.

"good morning, hello?" the little guy answers in english, and the emcees are practically digging all of this up.

the voice then answers, but the words is silenced. it then shows as the hair of the tiny human bounces, the phone is dropped, footfalls are quiet, yet swift, and the door to the room opens. the tiny human can be slightly seen, and they run out, before running back to close the door.

various camera angles appear, for how fast the little one is running past everything, and the human passes the living room area, taking a left, and then a right and stands in front of the door, then he moves to the little crate beside it and sits patiently. after a few seconds, it opens, and a tall man enters the apartment with a few suitcases and a duffle bag, another cute emoticon doing it's job as it hides the man's face.

the human is practically bouncing on the crate at this point, his round, yet sharp eyes creasing up, his tiny white teeth on display as his arms frail around. the man rests down his luggage, before pretending he can't see the smaller male, and looks around for said human being.

"dad!" the small boy shouts, and the emoticon is finally off of the male's face as he smiles, the signature boxy grin his fans has come to love is on display as he picks up the little rascal, and whisper shouts a little "taehee!" just as enthusiastically as the child had to his father.

the emcees are shocked, like genuinely, you could hear it in the way they go "waaaaaa. it's bts' v!" and it switches again, showing the superstar, alongside his glowing son, and a pregnant lady beside him.

the lady is a mixture of slim and thick, her thighs all packed and gracious as it presses on the seat and shows beneath the fabric of her dress. said dress is long, with a flowy skirt and a sort of baggy top, black as the base with various flowers, colored rose pink and sky blue, along the skirt, past the waist, and some on the top. the belly she sports is a big one, and she look like she was ready to pop in no time. her hair was dark brown and kinky, with golden brown tips as the curl pattern shows perfectly, resting on her back. her light brown eyes get lost behind her lids as she smiles, her nose is scrunched up, smile lines along the eyes and her lips is outstretched, the craters in her face deepens, the dimples popping out perfectly, and the little boy shows his own.

her caramel skin glows, just like her aura is, and the boy glows equally with his honey toned skin as well, as he sits on his father's lap, both of them rubbing her stomach.

"hello everyone, i'm Kim Taehyung, aka V from BTS and this is my family."

Q: How old is your kid?

"He's two and a half years old, but if we're gonna get technical, he's 30 months."

Q: How long have you two been married?

"Four years. We've been together for five, and got married a year into the relationship because i couldn't resist her in the slightest."

"Lol, likewise."

"I told you stop saying LoL out loud lyssa. it's outdated by now."

"iT's oUtDaTeD bY nOw. i do what i want tae."

the questions and the bantering went on for another minute and a half, taehee getting in on it to, and him and his mother verbally gangs on taehyung, causing him to pout.

"we were actually kind of hesitant to be on the show. for many reasons, obviously, but mainly because we weren't sure if we wanted taehee, taesung and taeri in the public eye as yet. or at all. i wanted to show them on my own time, wanted to wait until they were old enough to understand this world to decide whether or not they wanted to be known as our children. after a while, and with the help of my hyungs, jiminie and kookie, we decided to take part in it anyways. we hope you guys take care of us."

Q: Woah, you guys are having twins?

"Haha, yes. we found out during the gender reveal that the doctor forgot to tell us we were having two babies. good thing we planned to always buy double the clothes and necessities for whenever i get pregnant. i say that because this little beast is unpredictable."

•~•

the video then switches back to the house, with taehee and taehyung sitting on the couch, the television on, with them watching a show, taehee swaying from side to side with the music, taehyung singing along quietly, and they watch the show until lyssa exits from the room and pecks both of their foreheads, before going straight to the jù,kitchen.

she tells alexa to play an older song by her husband's group, and the intro plays as soon as the show finishes, taehee immediately running into the kitchen to help and sing along to the song. meanwhile, taehyung is in the living room, his phone in front of his face as he smiles softly, both him and the person he's seemingly on the call with is silent as they listen to the two on their seemingly daily routine.

"you want to help make the pancakes dylan?" lyssa asks in english to her son, and he peeps an excited 'yes mama' over the voice of hoseok and his rap for hold me tight.

she smiles at him, and they make the pancakes from scratch, him calling out the ingredients in english, and she helps him in pronounciation and correcting his mistakes with a chuckle and a smile. while the pancakes are frying, she kindly asks taehyung to go to the store at the end of the corner to get some hershey's cookie n creme chocolate bars and a jar of dill pickles for her cravings.

she makes sure they all eat, before getting ready and going to head out for the allocated forty eight hours set. taehee follows her like a little duckling as she slightly waddles through the living room, with a purse on her shoulder, and she shoves the car keys in the bag, before turning around and ruffling his hair.

"be a good boy for mama, okay? you get to spend two whole days with papa and your uncles! isn't that fun?" taehee does seem happy, but you can tell, deep behind his nod, he is secretly praying that alyssa doesn't go. that she stays with both of them for the two days, just like old times, but she had let him watch the show, and he knows that's not the case. when she turns to leave, taehee grabs the hem of her dress, and she turns around, meeting his sharp cognac eyes, and it looks like he was trying his best not to cry.

"oh, dee, c'mere," she starts, lifting him up in her arms as the tears finally fall. she knew her taehee as a strong boy, but there are times where he can't help, but cry. dad was always to the company or on tour for as long as taehee knew him, so he built a special relationship with his mom. he knew he promised her to be strong, and to be a big boy, for when she was going to leave, but he hopes, that two days doesn't turn into a long time, like dad sometimes does.

"now what did we discuss dee?"

"th-that i w-was gonna be a b-big boy. th-that i w-was gonna stay w-with dad un-until mama g-gets back."

"right, we did agree to that, but you look like you wanna come with me. do you want to come with me, or are you gonna make me proud and spend time with papa? he misses you, you know. every day, he calls, sometimes when you're asleep and he always tells me how he can't wait to come home and have you by his side. do you wanna let papa down? let mama down? let your uncles down? or are we gonna be a big boy and be on our best behavior to make mama, papa and uncles proud?"

"i'm gonna be a big boy. i'll stay with dad and we'll have so much f-fun mama, you'll want to come back."

"i'm sure of it dee. now, papa is in the room waiting for snuggles. you know how to work the phone, so call me whenever. okay?"

"okay mama. i love you lots!"

"i love you more than lots!"

"i love you more than your lots! have fun mama, but not too much fun or i'll be mad at you."

alyssa gasps, pouting a bit, before smiling once taehee plants a big fat kiss on her cheek and smush them together like she does to him. they smile at each other, before she rests him down, and she waves at him until she is nowhere to be seen, exiting the door and off to go about her day. taehee rushes inside the room, knocking on the door, before opening it in at the sound of 'come in' and smiles at his dad, running and climbing up the bed to lay beside his dad as he talks to uncle jin.

"oh, it's little tae! how's it going buddy?" jin asks, from the other side of the phone, and taehee smiles, the dimples making another appearance, before answering his uncle. taehyung looks at his son, eyes glimmering with pure love, as he thinks that he can finally spend time with his son.

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thesunnyshow · 4 years

Text

Name: Kim Age: 26 (27 in September) Writing Blog URL(s): @jinterlude

Nationality: Filipino-American Languages: English Star Sign: Virgo MBTI: ISFJ-T Favorite color: Any shade of blue Favorite food: Ah, I have so many, but I really do love ramen & this Filipino noodle dish my grandma makes. Favorite movie: West Side Story. A close second is Pride & Prejudice (2005) Favorite ice cream flavor: Rocky Road Favorite animal: Pandas Go-to karaoke song: Upside Down by A*Teens (I think I just dated myself)

What fandom(s) do you write for? Mainly BTS, but I have written for SVT, EXO, GOT7, Monsta X, B.A.P, & NCT

When did you post your first piece? Oh dang, when? Hmm… I want to say Oct. 2016 (?) on my first blog (I had deleted and came back to Tumblr).

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? I mostly write a combo because it just happens that way! My main genres are: fluff, romance, & humor/crack.

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? I mainly write OCs stories because that’s what makes me the happiest when it comes to writing, but I still write x reader fics for drabbles and oneshots.

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? Funny story. The reason why I started writing for Tumblr is because an old group of friends said that I should write a funny story based on a college class of mine, so I did and here we are.

What inspires you to write? Usually, it’s my imagination, but other times it’s either the song I’m listening to or even the show I’m currently watching. Right now, my inspiration draws from anime.

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? Genre wise, I love writing fluff & romance. AUs wise, I’m a sucker for Royal/Royalty. Mafia/Gang & Soulmate AUs would be a close second.

What do you hope your readers take away from your work? Oh, wow. I honestly never thought about that before. I think for me, the one thing I hope my readers get from my stories is at the end of the day, please do something that will make you happy. Your own happiness should always be a top priority for you.

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? I take a break! Instead of forcing myself out of the creativity slump, I just take a break and let my mind recharge. Then, I go back to my outline and look over while listening to music that I know will spark some creativity juices.

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? My favorite works (yes, I couldn’t pick just one) are my Royal!AU Seokjin series (Fight for Me & Our Second Chance). I love the amount of time and effort I put into those two stories, and I’m simply in awe at the world and characters I created. My second favorite is my latest Seokjin oneshot, Protecting Each Other. It’s my first story that exceeded 10,000 words, and I’m just proud of how that turned out. Successful wise, I would say it’s, This Little String. It’s a Soulmate!Taehyung oneshot based around the red-string of fate, and every other month, I see someone like and/or reblog it, so I say that’s pretty successful!

Who is your favorite person to write about? Seokjin hands down. I mean, not only is he one of my ultimate biases, but for some reason my creative banks dishes out ideas and inspiration for him like it’s nothing.

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose? I personally don’t think so. You are still writing original content that derails from the source material (or adds to it), all you have to do is just replace your idols’ name with an original character name, and there you go. What do you think makes a good story? For me, I’d say that if you’re honestly proud of the end product, then that story is good, and your readers will see that. What is your writing process like? First I get an idea, or I like to call it, “it appeared to me in a vision,” then I outline it (if the idea lingers in my brain), and then I start writing and editing. Sometimes I’d sprint with my fellow writers on a server I’m in, and other times, I’d put on music and just let my brain go wild. Most of the time, I’m sprinting with friends.

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? If I had the time, probably. I can see my Royal!AU series becoming an original story with different characters and an expanded plotline. What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? I am a sucker for F2L I (friends to lovers)! I just love the idea of dating someone who’s your best friend, so why not date your best friend, if the feelings are mutual of course! As for tropes, I dislike, I can’t say that I have any. I think it’s because (and I feel so bad for this), I don’t really read much stories other than what my mutual friends have written.

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? It means the world to me because I do like knowing if I’m doing something right or if I need to go back and edit something for clarity. Mainly, I get likes and reblogs (with no feedback), and while it’s still nice of someone for taking the time to like and reblog something, I would like some feedback, please. I’m still grateful no matter what, though!

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? I think it’s the support of my amazing group of friends/mutuals! It’s thanks to their support that my work is reaching a wider audience, and it just means the world to me that they read my blood, sweat, and tears. I love them so much, especially my close friend, Jey (softjeon on Tumblr)!

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? For coffee, my go-to is a Caramel Macchiato with Soy Milk (from Starbucks), but lately I’ve been using my Keurig, so I just Peppermint Mocha and 3 tsps of Sugar (I can’t stand bitter coffee lol). For tea, I really like Mango green tea from Gongcha (another boba place chain).

Dream job (whether you have a job or not)? My dream job is to be an elementary school teacher, however, I am currently working on becoming a social worker where my population will still focus on children/students. So, it’s a good compromise!

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? If I could have one superpower, it would be cryokinesis aka ice manipulation!

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? Oh, that’s a tough one, but if I had to choose one, I would go for the 1960s so I can see the Beatles live!

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you? No, because it’s thanks to those life lessons that I grow up to be who I currently am. Sometimes you have to go through those harsh experiences to be a better version of yourself!

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? One horse-sized chicken, then I can feed my family for months.

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been? Oh, hands down, I would be the stereotypical geek/nerd. Though, I was called a “preppy” in 9th grade, so that was a first.

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? Yup, especially ghosts!

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? I can say the alphabet backwards!

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? Oh, hands down, especially when it comes to writing smut. I’ve seen other blogs condemn writers who write smut about real people, but my thing is that these idols are merely face claims for a character that the author is writing about.

Do you think art can be a medium for change? I think so! Every artist has a voice, especially with what’s going on recently, we need to be able to use our voices to spread light on certain issues.

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? I used to think that way, especially when it came to writing x reader inserts since I know that’s what “sells” to the Tumblr audience. Now, I’m perfectly happy with writing x OC stories, and I’m content with my stories getting at least 5 notes. If it breaks 10 notes, then that’s a success!

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? If they did, then I wouldn’t know. Most of the time, I think my writing is okay with people.

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? Yes, my soul friend managed my old blog once upon a time and actually read one of my smuts. I was so embarrassed! But at least he said it was tastefully written, so that’s a bonus?

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? Always remember that it is okay to take breaks/go on hiatus!

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? My advice to those who want to start writing but are too afraid put themselves out there is to simply go for it. I was that person who was afraid to put their writing out there for the world to see, especially with some already established BTS writers on Tumblr, but I went for it. At first, it might be discouraging but know that your mutuals/friends will always be your number one supporter! Use their support as a motivator to keep writing and finding your groove! Then, eventually, all of your readers will start trickling in and showering you with the love and support you deserve!

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? I wouldn’t say regret joining but more like allowing my life to be revolved around it. At one point in my life, it felt like a second job/chore for me, and Tumblr should never be that type of site!

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? Oh, I have so many! The ones that come to mind are definitely Jey (softjeon), Beanie (jinned), Nina (j-sope), Kenz (parksfilter), Renae (mygsii), Atlas (astraljoon), & Niah (randomkoalablog) to name a few! I love these amazing people so much and cherish their friendship to the moon and back!

Pick a quote to end your interview with: "Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious … and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney

#@jinterlude #thesunnyshow #featuredauthor #episode 24 #bts #seventeen #exo #got7 #monsta x #b.a.p.#nct

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galadrieljones · 4 years

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As You Were (Chapter 2)

Fandom: The Last of Us | Pairing: Joel x OC | Content: Fix-it | Rating: Mature

Masterpost

When Joel and Ellie take a wrong turn on their journey from Pittsburgh to Wyoming, they find themselves lost in a beautiful place with a dark and dangerous secret. While there, they meet a mother and son who, after a recent, tragic event on their family farm, are fighting tirelessly for survival. In an effort to find hope for the future, the two groups set out west together, growing closer over time, making choices and altering paths that will change the course of their lives forever.

This is an AU, starting after the events of the Summer chapter in the first game, and extending into the timeline of the second. Joel lives.

"If, somehow, the lord gave me a second chance at that moment, I would do it all over again." -Joel

Chapter 2: The Farmhouse

"If, somehow, the lord gave me a second chance at that moment, I would do it all over again."

“Shit, Joel. I think we need to go back," said Ellie. She was in the front seat. She was holding a road map, staring out the rear window. She had sunburn on her cheeks, and it made her freckles real prominent. “The I-90 is back south.”

“Ain’t no way we are north of the I-90.”

“I'm only reporting what the map says.”

“It was hours ago we crossed into Wisconsin. Do you know how goddam far north we’d have to be if we are north of the I-90?”

“Doesn’t it just go in a straight line?”

“Give me that.” Joel swiped the map, which made her huff. They were going about 45 on a state highway. It was feral farm fields flying by on all sides, crawling with weeds and wildflowers, lifting up and down an uneven terrain, seeming to grow on a kind of staircase. Joel knew this method. It was called terrace farming. He had thought Wisconsin was flatter. He’d never been, but this was all hills and limestone outcroppings that rose high into the air. He was concerned about falling rocks. It almost felt like they were driving through some sort of canyons. Whenever they crested a hill, they would see what looked to be old Lutheran churches, just a ton of them, white and rundown, with big, square barn quilts painted on the siding, or on the steeples. In some places, the corn still grew, and in others, the valleys dipped low enough that water completely flooded the area. There were so many rivers, little tributaries that ran right through the broken down towns. A lot of the side roads, too, had been consumed with water, or an overgrowth of trees, or piled up with automobiles, conspicuously, as if guiding them to, or away from something. He looked at the map, and then he looked at Ellie. “You were holding it upside down.”

“Oops.”

He sighed dramatically, stopped the car, and let it idle. He held the map open between them, dropped his finger to a spot he thought she might recognize. “See this here?” he said.

“Sure. That’s Madison.”

“Madison is the capital of Wisconsin. You know the state capitals? They teach you that in the QZ?”

“Yes, I know the state capitals,” said Ellie.

“Good. Well. I think we turned onto State Highway 18 just south of Madison, right here.”

“Well, we’re not on Highway 18 anymore, right?”

“We’re on Highway 61,” said Joel. He had a mosquito bite on the back of his neck, kept itching him. Truth be told as well, it had been some time since he had meaningfully studied a full blown road map. They had picked it up just north of the border in a dusty clicker town called Beloit. He scratched the mosquito bite. “We have gotten way too far the hell west. Or, maybe it’s east. Goddammit.”

“Didn’t we cross a big river like 20 minutes ago?” said Ellie. “Could be this. The Wisconsin River.” She said it in a venerable and British manner, as if she were narrating a nature documentary.

“Possibly,” said Joel, but then he knew it was. She was right. “I do remember a sign for a place called Boscobel.”

“Sweet,” said Ellie. “So, all we have to do is just keep going north.” She traced her finger along Highway 61, “and then we’ll get to I-90. We should be able to find something there, right? For gas?”

“There’ll be gas,” said Joel, “but that’s another 30 miles. We ain’t gonna make it.”

“Well, fuck,” said Ellie. She looked out the window. Joel put the car back in drive and kept going. “Maybe there’s like a scrapyard or something? We’ve seen a lot of old, shitty cars. Maybe there’s people around here.”

“Even if there are,” said Joel, “I ain’t certain whether they’re the kinds of people with whom we ought to…consort.”

“You mean like cannibals?”

“I didn’t say that,” said Joel, giving her a look. “Jesus. Where the hell’d you learn about cannibals?”

“The Donner Party,” said Ellie. “History class.”

Joel looked at her, and she was looking out the window. She had found a pen back in Beloit and doodled a large milk cow on her left forearm. He said, “I don’t know, Ellie. I don’t wanna take no chances. Not after last time.”

“Same here,” said Ellie. “But we have to do something.”

“I know,” said Joel. “I know, just—give me a minute.”

Don't go back. A little wind came through the window. She had fallen asleep to the wind chimes, like music on the Mississippi. Nobody was coming though. Nobody coming, they said. She heard him loud and clear: Don’t go back.

“Mom. Mom?” It was the same voice. “Are you awake? Cici. Wake up the hell up. Over.”

She roused. She sat up quickly, as if the lord had appeared. Hair was in her face. Her head felt thick, like it was made of metal or something and she rubbed her temples immediately, looked up at the ceiling. It boasted an old, familiar crack, had been there since childhood. She picked up the walkie off the nightstand. She shook her head out, squeezed her eyes shut. She said, “I’m sorry. I’m up. Noah? Over.”

“I said, we got visitors. Over.”

“What kind of visitors? Over.”

“Don’t know,” said Noah. “A man, and his daughter. In a Tacoma. Over.”

“A daughter?” she said, looking around. Her shotgun was leaning against the bed post. “Noah,” she said. “Do they look friendly? Over.” There was some sort of pause, the walkie crackled. She heard the sounds of car doors amidst the static and froze up. “Noah.”

“They look friendly,” he said then. “I’ll check it out. Over.”

“Be careful.”

“Wait ten minutes, then come down to the battlement.”

Over.

Noah had been in the crow’s nest reading a book called The Road. He had found the book at one of the college libraries over in Richland Center, he liked it and had now read it a couple times, always in the crow’s nest. The Road was about a man and his son walking around in a dark and hopeless post-apocalyptic setting, trying to escape roving gangs of cannibals. The man had an awful cough, and he knew he was going to die. It was his only goal to teach his son the ways of survival so that he may continue to “carry the torch” after his father’s death.

Noah was tall and big across the shoulders. His eighteenth birthday was soon. From the crow’s nest, you could observe a lot of the immediate property, which he and his mother had booby-trapped with proximity mines and IEDs. His grandpa had been a Naval engineer, and his uncle had been in Iraq in 2004. All of them grain farmers. His mother was good with improvised demolition and she had taught him all he knew. Their land as they had established it that year was about six acres of riverfront with crops, an aging well, and a watering hole.

When the Tacoma pulled up the gravel drive it crested slowly to the top of the hill where Noah watched. It idled before the gate so Noah could see inside—a man and a young girl. He radioed his mom and then climbed down to the battlement, ten feet above ground, built to oversee the barbed-wire gate, which would open to their pasture and their lawn, their house. He popped the bolt in his rifle and pointed the barrel straight at the man, watching him through a scope. The man and the girl had got out of the car. They looked a little worn out but their clothes were normal, and they were not aggressive nor holding heat. They held their hands up in surrender. He supposed it could have been a con. But it just didn’t look like one. Not with a girl.

Noah didn’t say anything. He had caught the man’s attention, gazing at him through the scope, the crosshairs planted straight between his eyes. He was going to let the man speak first.

“We ain’t armed,” said the man, keeping eye contact. “We don’t mean you no harm.”

“What’s your name,” said Noah.

“Joel,” said the man. “My name is Joel. This here is Ellie.”

Noah kept the rifle aimed, but he glanced at the girl over the top of the scope. “This your father.”

“No,” said the girl. “I mean, no. We’re just friends.”

“Friends?”

“We got stuck together,” said Ellie. “We’re both trying to get out west.”

“Where are your parents?”

“I have no idea,” said Ellie. “Probably dead. Where are yours?”

Noah lowered the rifle. He trusted her. He didn’t know why. “My mom is back at the house,” he said. “My dad is dead.”

“I’m sorry,” said Ellie. “That blows.”

For a moment they all just stood there, listening to the cicadas. Then Noah threw the gun over his shoulder and took a deep breath. He climbed down from the battlement. He unlatched the gate and threw it open from the inside. It was tall and heavy, made of scrap metal, treated wood, and wire. He approached them with caution. They kept their hands visible. He looked at Ellie. “Is this guy chill?”

“Not really,” said Ellie. “But he’s not gonna try and kill you, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Jesus,” said Joel.

“Just trying to be cooperative,” said Ellie.

Noah had the rifle resting on his shoulder. He was smiling at her. It was a hot day, mid-September. “Where you coming from,” he said to Joel.

“Back east.”

“Where.”

“Boston,” said Joel.

“Why do you got that cowboy accent if you’re from Boston.”

Joel gave him a wary look. “What the hell do you know about cowboys, son?”

“We got a TV and a VCR and a generator,” said Noah. “I like John Wayne.”

“Nice,” said Ellie.

“I’m from Texas originally,” said Joel. “Moved up to Boston a long time ago.”

Noah nodded. “Makes sense.”

“So it’s just you and your mom here?” said Ellie. “You guys got crops?”

“Yes,” said Noah.

“Any horses?”

“A few. Do you know how to ride?”

“Hell yeah,” said Ellie.

She seemed nice, thought Noah. He said to Joel, “So what brings you this far north?”

“We got lost,” said Ellie.

“No, we didn’t,” said Joel.

“We didn’t?”

“We got held up outside Chicago,” said Joel. “And I was trying to avoid the Quad Cities. Heard bad things about those parts.”

“Yeah,” said Noah. “We heard, too.”

“Couldn’t go nowhere but north,” said Joel. “It’s a lot of open country once you get off the highway. Trees and hills and a lot of the roads are flooded.”

“We got lost,” said Ellie.

Joel sighed. “How north are we? I mean, I know we ain’t as far as the I-90, but I don’t know where exactly we are.”

“You’re right outside Viroqua,” said Noah. “Vernon County.”

“Which means what?”

“Western Wisconsin,” said Noah. “Between Madison and Minneapolis.”

Joel sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Closer to Madison, if it makes a difference.”

“Not really,” said Joel.

“What’s your name?” said Ellie.

Somewhere nearby there was the sound of a woodpecker. “Noah,” he said. “My mom’s name is Cynthia, but she goes by Cici. She’ll be here soon.”

“I am very sorry for our intrusion,” said Joel. “We didn’t mean to scare you. We saw a path, looked like it might lead to a scrapyard or something. We had no idea anybody would be living out here.”

“You looking for scrap?”

“No,” said Joel. “Just fuel.”

“Well, we got fuel,” said Noah, scratching at some of the raw scruff on his neck. “Not much we can spare though.”

“I’ll take whatever you can give.”

“There’s an Amish scrapyard, maybe ten miles out,” said Noah. “It’s got forty or fifty old school busses, a couple big-rigs, too. They don’t run, but nearly all of them got fuel.”

“The Amish are selling school busses?”

“I guess they used to just collect whatever they could find,” said Noah.

“Jesus,” said Joel. “Any of them still around?”

“Some,” said Noah.

“Noah,” said a woman. It was Cici, his mother. She was small, her light hair tied off her face, wearing a blue tee-shirt that was obviously too big. She was jogging toward them from up the way with a shotgun in her hands. “Noah. What’s going on.”

“It’s okay,” said Noah.

She stopped, regarded Joel and Ellie, said nothing.

“You Cici?” said Joel.

“Yes. Who’s asking?” she said.

“This is Joel,” said Noah. “And Ellie. They got lost leaving Chicago. They’re needing fuel.”

“Chicago is a long way from here,” she said. “You must have gotten really lost.”

“We did not get lost,” said Joel.

Ellie rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” said Cici. She seemed kind of tough and direct, a little like Tess. She had a long, straight scar on her neck, looked bad. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked at Ellie. “You gonna rob me?”

“Hell no,” said Ellie. “Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know,” said Cici. “I don’t know why anybody would do that, but I have to ask.”

“We don’t mean you no harm,” said Joel. “I swear. Your boy here just told us about an Amish scrapyard ten miles away. We just need a little fuel to get us there, and for you to point us in the right direction, and we’ll be on our way.”

“Them Amish won’t trade with you,” she said. “They only trade with people they know.”

“Well, maybe you can help us,” said Ellie. “We can help each other.”

“Ellie,” said Joel.

“What?”

“Where you coming from?” said Cici.

“Boston," said Joel.

“You must be tired.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“We got beds,” she said. “Extra. Plenty of room. And food.”

“What’s your meaning.”

“You stay for a few days, let me put you to work—you look strong. Are you strong?”

“I reckon I ain’t weak,” said Joel.

“Good. You can help Noah out with some of the heavy-lifting. And Ellie, is it? You can help me out, too.”

“Okay, sure.”

“I’ll get you your fuel,” said Cici to Joel, like she’d been making deals this way her whole life. “It’s like she said. You help us, we help you.”

Joel hesitated, glanced to Ellie who shrugged. “What the hell else are we gonna do?” she said.

He sighed. He glanced to Cici who was holding out her hand. “You ain’t gonna…carve us up and eat us, are you?”

This made her smile. When she did, he could tell that she was younger than she had originally seemed. Pretty, kind of mild, exactly like he’d been lead on to believe about Midwestern girls in his youth. Plain-like, and simple. “You’re funny,” she said.

He cleared his throat and straightened up, an old habit.

“We got a deal?” she said.

He said, “Yeah, okay.”

“Lead the way,” said Ellie.

They went up the driveway, over a hill, and to the house. It was a plain white farmhouse, very old, but nicely kept. Noah took the keys and went and pulled around the truck through the gate and parked it on the lawn. Inside, there were the remnants of a real life. Joel knew they had always lived there, even before the outbreak. There were paintings on the walls, a lot of them, unframed, looked like somebody had made them—landscapes, and still lives, some scenes with sheep, a woman wearing a dress and holding a baby beneath an apple tree. They were all signed with a W. The kitchen was simple, and they had fruit and vegetables and meat and a gas stove that still worked. In the sitting room, there was a blue sofa and a red rocking chair, a lot of patchwork quilts, and a loom. There was a radio and a record player, the old TV, and the VCR, like Noah had said. They had electricity, but Joel could tell it was rationed. There were oil lamps in every corner of the room, and some Christmas lights strung up around the windows, colorful bunting, which brought the room to life with color. It was a pleasant place, and familiar, and warm, and when they entered, both him and Ellie felt safe.

“Holy shit,” said Ellie. “This is your house?”

“Yes,” said Cici. She hung the shotgun on a nail by the door. “It’s not much.”

“It’s awesome,” said Ellie. She took off her backpack, but then she seemed unsure of where to put it. Noah took it. She thanked him.

“The bedrooms are all upstairs,” he said.

“You all been living here a while?” said Joel, looking around. He cracked his knuckles.

“My mom grew up here,” said Noah.

Cici made no addition. She was already boiling water on the stove.

“Well, it’s real nice,” said Joel. “Thank you, ma’am. For your hospitality.”

She glanced at him, as if suspicious, but then she softened. She said, “You’re welcome.”

When they got upstairs, Noah showed them to the room all the way at the end of the hallway. It was big enough, with two windows, two twin beds, each with a little nightstand, and a lamp, and a wash bowl. There was a single bureau, and a standing mirror. There was no working bathroom indoors, said Noah, as the plumbing was shot. They used the outhouse. He also told them not to drink from the river, or to bathe in it, under any circumstances. Joel found this unusual, but he didn't press him on it, just went along with the rules.

Noah had been carrying Ellie’s backpack, set it down on one of the little beds. Joel set his backpack on the other.

“This okay?” said Noah.

“This’ll do just fine,” said Joel. He became a little awkward, but then he squared up with Noah and lowered his voice in seriousness. “Are you absolutely sure this is okay?” he said.

Noah just stared at him. He was forthright. He said, “Why are you asking?”

“You get a lot of travelers come through here?”

“No,” said Noah. “Not anymore. When my dad was alive, sometimes. But not anymore.”

“It’s just very unexpected,” said Joel. “How can you trust us?”

Noah looked at Ellie, who had switched open her knife and was studying the tip. It was just a habit. She flipped it shut and tucked it back into her pocket the moment she realized he was watching. “Sorry,” she said. “What?”

“Nothing,” said Joel.

“He wants to know how we know we can trust you.”

“Well,” said Ellie. “How do you know?”

Noah shrugged. He didn’t seem to have a clean answer. “We’ve gotten reavers, coming through here, on more than one occasion,” he said. “They bring numbers. They bring guns. They don’t make it past the minefield on the perimeter, and if they do, they get shot. Not a one of them has ever simply driven up to the front gate, exited their car, and apologized for being a burden. Not one of them has ever been a girl either.”

“What the hell are reavers?” said Ellie.

“Hunters,” said Joel, looking at her. “That’s what he means. We call them hunters, back east.”

“Whatever you want to call them,” said Noah. “Anyway, you don’t have to worry about us, okay? I appreciate the concern. But this ain’t our first rodeo.”

“Sounds good,” said Joel. “I just—I was thinking about you and your mom, out here, all alone.”

“We’re not alone,” said Noah, point blank. “There are others, in the area. You just don’t see them. Like I said, you don’t have to worry.”

Joel turned subdued, looked down at his knuckles, which were still bruised from Pittsburgh. “I see. Well, I had to make sure.”

“My mom’s gonna cook dinner,” he said. “It’ll be ready in like an hour. I got some more shit to do out front.”

“We’ll see you then,” said Ellie.

“Cool,” said Noah. He nodded at Joel. “We good?”

“We’re good,” said Joel.

“Good.” He sort of half-smiled, then he was gone.

Ellie flopped onto the bed immediately. She closed her eyes and said, “Holy shit, Joel. We really lucked out, huh?”

Joel was still palming his knuckles, staring at the closed door, thinking about the boy. He didn’t feel in danger. He just thought, something bad had happened here. He could feel it. Could sense it. The situation was complex. He took a deep breath. He said to her, “I think you might be right.”

“You think they’re cannibals?”

“Probably not,” said Joel. He sat down on the other bed. It creaked beneath his weight. He thought to take off his shoes, but perhaps that was too forward. “Guess we’ll find out soon.”

“I like this place,” said Ellie, staring up at the ceiling. She was wide-eyed. She was filled with wonder. “It’s pure, you know? I’ve never been in a place like this before.”

“You mean like a farm?”

“Yeah,” she said. “A farmhouse. It’s just so…nice.” She switched her blade open again, then closed it. Flipped it open again, closed it. “Is this what it was like back in Texas?” she said. “Before the Outbreak?”

He looked at her, realizing he hadn’t ever really told her about Texas. Nothing specific, at least. “It was a little like this, yes,” he said.

“Man,” said Ellie. “I could live here.” She closed her eyes, smiled. In about a minute, she was asleep.

Cici was salting a pan of lamb shanks in the kitchen. That man, she could hear the weight of his boots upstairs. As she pressed the salt into the meat with her fingers, she looked at the red and knew she should not have been so trusting. It was almost 7:30, and the sun was only just now starting to set. Whenever it did, it shone bright through the westerly window, over the living room, blinding her for several minutes before hiding behind the trees. Noah came downstairs. He hung up his rifle on a hook next to the front door. He came into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, across from her. He was dirty from the events of the day. He’d had to redig the trench on the eastern part of the perimeter. A couple runners had wandered in and tripped the mines there, upping the soil and taking down a tree.

“They good?” she said. She started a second burner, for the lamb. She stirred the rice.

“Yeah,” said Noah.

She looked at him and felt guilty. It was a common, stupid thing for her. He used to just go about his day, but now she was pretty sure that he could sense it. She looked back at the lamb. “Maybe we should’ve been more discerning with him.”

“He’s okay,” he said.

“He don’t seem off at all to you?”

“Not really,” said Noah. “He seems kind of hokey, if anything. Though I do think he’s seen and done some shit.”

“Why do you think that?”

“He’s scarred up.”

“You must be starving,” she said, wanting to change the subject. “I’m sorry about today. Them fucking runners showed up, and I don’t know where they’re coming from anymore.”

“Seems like there’s definitely more,” he said. He turned around to look out the window, the sun making its exit. “I don’t know what to say.”

“They must be coming from LaCrosse,” she said.

“At least,” he said. “If they’re runners, that means more are turning.”

She got very quiet from the inside out.

“I’m gonna ask him to come with me,” said Noah, "to LaCrosse.”

“You don’t know him, Noah.”

“We’ll give it a couple days,” he said. “Then we’ll see.”

It had just been a while since she’d really seen a man, that’s all. She had lost her bearings on the normal kind. “Go on and do the cameras for the night,” she said.

He slapped his palm lightly to the counter, to break the moment. “Okay.”

When he left, she watched him pick up the rifle and disappear out the door, looking like his father. Then she poured herself a glass of whiskey from a jug by the stove to drink as she cooked and waited. Upstairs, it was hushed quiet.

#the last of us #the last of us part 2 #tlou #tlou2 #joel tlou #ellie tlou #joel miller #ellie williams #as you were

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